The New Girl
by Vamptears101
Summary: There's a new scientist on Atlantis, and she's not at all what anyone thought she would be. With tattoos, rough tough fashion, and a temper, this little vixin is about to come to face with the reason she's on Atlantis. Sorry for my spelling, this was an ever evolving story, if you can't get past the spelling and grammer and give constructive critism, DON'T READ!
1. Chapter 1

The New Girl

Being a new scientist on Atlantis was...to say the least, a bit of an adjustment for Serena Marlo. The SGC had called her in do to her experience in advanced genetics. She, however, had been less then thrilled about the whole affair having just received a promotion at Gene-u-tech Labs. The place was big, and all sorts of countries had dealings in their research, but Serena was one of the best and brightest despite her age and background.

Serena, 23 years-old, stood at about five foot two with shortly cropped black hair accentuating her pixie like face. She had cool green eyes framed by long black lashes, pale ivory skin, and a shapely figure complete with a small and fairly short waist, but what she didn't have in size she made up for in talent. Having grown up in the back streets in down town New York, with an alcoholic father, who thankfully worked nights at steel mill; and a bar waitress for a mother, she had to work hard to get through school. Serena excelled in her studies and soon was out of high school and off to New York State on a scholarship. All things considered, things were going well, and soon she even landed a job at Gene-u-tech, first as a lab assistant, and then on to being one of its top geneticists.

Though quiet peeved at the fact that she had no say in going to Atlantis, Serena had to admit she was curious and just a bit excited. From what she had been told about the Wraith and their feeding habits, she was a bit anxious to see one up close. The SGC wasn't shy about pushing her through the gate either, and as she arrived on Atlantis for the first time she instantly felt that she may have been better off back on earth. No one seemed to think she was a scientist, but then that could be do to the fact she was wearing a pair of painter pants, with army boots, and a tight black Nightwish tank-top, which showed off the tattoos on her forearms and parts of her shoulders and back. "Oh ya...no pressure." she said to herself as Carnal Carter came down to greet her. "Hello, I'm Carnal Samantha Carter, welcome to Atlantis." she said. Serena looked Carter over and new that, despite the fact that she was a military, Carter was a woman that she could work with. 'Maybe this won't be a total waist.' Serena thought as Carter made to show her around.

The tour was nothing short of amazing. Serena was in aw over several things, not so much about the vast size of the city, but rather how much the expedition has managed to learn in just a three year period. "And we still have so many things that we haven't even touched on yet in the labs, let alone in the data banks." said Carter as they came back up to the control room and to the briefing room. Several people were already there, some seated, and other's standing or leaning against the table in the middle of the room. Serena sat somewhat away from the others not knowing what to expect, as Carter asked for everyone to sit so the briefing could begin.

Cater introduced Carnal Sheppard and his team, as well as Dr. Keller, and Dr. Zelenka, who would be working closely with her on her new project. Though from what Carter was saying, several scientists have already made some head way in the field of changing Wraith genetics. Dr. Becket being the first to try changing Wraiths into humans.

Carnal Carter then showed video logs of Becket's progress and his notes on the basic theories and results from his experiments. As Serena watched the subject that Sheppard had affectionately named Michel, she became increasingly agitated and just a bit angry at the team's methods of testing. The subject lost all memory of everything that he ever was, and as soon as he started trying to reintegrate, as Becket called it, into a normal life on Atlantis, he seemed to know deep down that something wasn't right. However, when ever he asked about it, whether it was to Teyla, Dr. Weir, or Becket they all said that it was do to his loss of memory and that it would pass with time. In a nut-shell, Serena understood Michel's anger and confusion when he found out what he really was; and even more so when it happened yet again, only on a larger scale.

When Cater had finished explaining how recently the goal had been changed to simply finding a way to eliminate the Wraith's need to feed on humans, she turned to Serena and said, "This is why you're here. I'm told you're one of the best and brightest in the field of genetics, and we need that on this project. If you have any questions feel free to ask." Oh Serena was boiling now, but she knew it would be better to hold her temper in check, or she may not get a shot at getting answers to her questions. So she simply leaned back in her chair for a moment or two thinking of the best way to say what she thought needed to be said. Then she came forward to lay her elbow on the table and said, "Well fist and foremost I want to know what kind of ethics you people use when dealing with a subject, because quite honestly I'm not impressed thus far."

Everyone in the room was quiet, either in shock, or disbelief, so Serena went on,saying, "One, you took a subject against their will; Two used a drug on him that was until that point untested, and therefor you had no idea what the effects would be; and three when he showed signs of knowing something was up you deliberately kept the truth from him. Add on top of that the fact that you didn't just do this to him once, but twice, and on the second run you had several others on the drug as well, quiet frankly I'd be pissed too! So I'm not sure if I want to work on this project if this is the way you treat your subjects; I've seen genii pigs treated better then this."

"Oh really?! And what would you have suggested? It wasn't like a Wraith was just all of a sudden going to lets us test the drug on him!" said Mc Kay after a moment. Serena just looked at him, and said, "All the same you could have found a different method by which to test the drug! Who knows, you could have found some Wraith that might have been willing to help in your research." "And where would you suggest we look!?" yelled Mc Kay. Then Cater decided to step in saying, "That's enough, both of you! now we knew that testing the drug on a Wraith would likely have its set backs; but we learned a great deal about the Wraith while they were taking the drug, and now we have moved on in this new direction to change the Wraith's feeding habits." Serena sat quietly as Carnal Cater went on, "We need the best scientists on this project, because we are running out of time. The Wraith are far greater in numbers, and if they find out where we are they will use everything they've got to get to our gate and use it to get back to Earth."

Serena sighed but nodded so did Mc Kay, and so Carter sat down once more saying, "Alright, now seeing as how you will be working with both Dr. Zelenka and Dr. Keller I've taken the liberty of giving you a lab which is near the medical bay and fairly close to Zelenka and Rodney's lab." At that moment Mc Kay interrupted saying, "Well technically it's just my lab, but...." "Rodney.. will more then likely be in and out of the project do to the fact that he's been working on a shutdown program for the Replicators, also his... assistant, is the one that you will be working with on a daily basis when he isn't working with Rodney." At this point Serena was intrigued, 'Could it be?' she wondered to herself as she asked the question that Cater knew she would ask. "Am I to assume that Dr. Mc Kay's assistant is a Wraith?" That's when John smiled saying, "Yay well, he's been real helpful in the past, and he did have the original shutdown program that we're now trying to modify, so...."

At that moment the alarm went off, signaling an in coming wormhole. As soon as the horizon was formed and the shield in place a technician named Chuck, stepped forward saying, "We're receiving an IDC, it's Sergeant Claymore and his team." Carter told them to lower the shield and people started coming through, who were undoubtably from the planet that had just dialed in. Serena watched as these people filed in as quickly and carefully as they could, keeping their family and loved ones close. They were frightened, absolutely terrified from what she could see, as more and more came through.

"That's nearly all of them." said a voice from a panel behind her. Looking back she saw that it was a glass screen holding a video of Claymore, who was still on the planet. In the background you could see his men helping some of the last groups through the gate. "Just one more group and this place'll be empty; who knows, if the Replicators scan the planet and find no one they may leave it alone, and these people can come back, when we've dealt with the Replicators." Claymore said hopefully. John smile at the Sergeant saying, "Well we'll deal with relocation at a later date, meanwhile we need to get everyone through before..." There was an explosion in the background near the gate. Claymore ducked and ordered his men to make for the gate, then turning back to the malp he said, "They're here, we're coming in hot sir!!" Sure enough people began running through the gate, and as soon as Claymore was through it shut down.

Now Serena understood how dyer the situation was with these Replicators, and that they had to be stopped. However, she knew that once they were, that the Wraith would be back to their position of power, just like in the reports she had read back on earth, and it would be up to her to change their feeding methods. So she went down the stairs of the control room to help those who were injured to Medical bay. Once everyone was taken care of John Sheppard came to her saying he'd show her to her new lab. It wasn't very large, but Serena was used to working in close quarters and didn't mind in the least.

After inspecting everything in the lab, she set up her lap-top and said, "Okay, so this Wraith I'm going to be working with, where is he at the moment?" John shrugged saying, "Oh probably still in Rodney's lab working. If ya want I can take you there?" Serena nodded and they headed out for Mc Kay's lab. Rodney was scrutinizing the Wraith's calculations as he always did when John and Serena came in. John headed over to Rodney to see how much progress had been made, while Serena got her first look at the Wraith she was going to be working with.

He was tall, at least six foot six, and had, what appeared to be a well muscled frame; though Serena couldn't really tell under all that leather. His hair was past his shoulders and laired somewhat haphazardly, but it looked soft like spider webs; and like all those of his kind, his eyes were yellow-ish green, with cat slits for pupils. He was in a word, beautiful, and Serena thought it a shame that he was trapped here, but at least it would give her a chance to get to know him, if he would let her. So without further ado, she walked up behind him, as he worked at one of the lab's lap-tops, laid her head on his left shoulder, and asked, "What'cha do'en?" Both Rodney and John were shocked at what Serena was doing, and the marines had their weapons poised on the Wraith as he turned his head to her.

The Wraith looked at her somewhat surprised that she was so close, and simply said, "Working." then went back to typing. Serena watched him for a few moments and then switched shoulders, saying, "I can see that, and I've gotta tell ya, I've never seen something so complicated... well unless I'm looking at a mapped genome, but still..." The Wraith once again looked at her on the other side and said, "So you're the new geneticist then." It was a statement, and Serena remembered that he could read minds if he wanted to so she simply nodded saying, "Yep, I'm Serena. What's your name?" He didn't answer, not that she expected him to. From what she could remember from the reports, Wraith didn't have names, or if they did they never said what they were. So Serena continued to watch him in relative silence as he continued to modify the shutdown command program.

After a few more moments she moved her chin to the top of his head, still watching him. This caused him to stop typing and say, "What are you doing?" She looked down and said, "I'm observing you working, and working hard I might add." At that point she turned her still sitting chin to Rodney and said, "Do you give this guy any breaks?" Mc Kay had to shake himself slightly and then said, "Are you nuts!!! Don't get so close, he could feed on you!!!" Serena looked slightly amused at Rodney's outburst, but as she looked at Sheppard she realized that he along with the marines were ready to shoot. She sighed and pulled herself up to stand strait and looked at the sitting Wraith, who had now turned his chair around to get a better look at her.

He looked her up and down, and gave a small grin, which she guessed was the closest thing to a smile she was going to get. She smiled back at him and said, "So, how long since you last fed?" He was silent for a moment, and then he looked at Sheppard, and said, "It will be a week come tomorrow since my last feeding." Serena nodded saying, "Uh-ha and how many weeks can you go after a feeding?" The Wraith was now watching her with curiosity in his eyes as he said, "Up to three or four weeks maybe more, but only if there is nothing to feed upon, or if feedings must be rationed." What was she getting at he wondered, she certainly wouldn't consider feeding him; after all his last feeding was hard to come by, and was only given because he was needed to help heal Mc Kay's sister. However, Serena gave nothing away as she turned to Sheppard and his men saying, "Well there you have it then, he only fed a week ago and it takes three to four weeks for him to get hungry again. So I'd say I'm perfectly fine, thank you."

This time the Wraith looked at her in surprise along with the others. Was she truly that dim, or was there something else she had in mind for being this casual around him? He had no idea, but as he looked at her she smiled yet again saying, "Well I look forward to working with you, see ya tomorrow, and don't work too hard." She turned to leave, and for the first time he noted the tattoos and clothes she was wearing, as she left the lab she winked at him and walked down the hall as if she had just walked out of a general staff meeting. One thing was for sure things had certainly become interesting on Atlantis and the Wraith was going to use every bit of it to his advantage.


	2. Author's Note

Author's Note

Hey everyone, I promised myself I wouldn't do this, but at the moment things have gotten a bit

crazy. So here's the scoop, I've had a bit of writer's block, and I've been trying to fix a few mistakes in the first chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to repost the first chapter and give you guys chapter two real soon. In any case I'm working on two other fics right now too, so I should have even more goodies for you guys to sink your teeth into. Well here's hoping I don't get writer's block for a while, and I'll get the next chapter up soon.

- Later ^_^


	3. Chapter 2

The New Girl

Chapter Two

It's been nearly two weeks since Serena had been shipped to Atlantis, and she had to say everything was going well, all things considered. 'Now if I could just find a way to poison Mc Kay without anyone finding out, life here would be perfect,' she thought, just as the Wraith walked in. He snickered as he walked by her desk to the examination table. It was still a little freaky knowing that he could read her mind at any time, and already had, several times. However, Serena knew that anything he might read in or out of her mind at this point would not be nearly as bad as what he had read on their first day working together.

-(Two Weeks Ago)-

The Wraith came into her lab with Rodney in tow and two marines on either side of him. The first thing she said was, "Strip down to your pants and hop on the table please." Oh the look on Mc Kay's face was priceless, and the Wraith wasn't shy either. He undid his long coat and slung it over one of the chairs. He did the same with the sleeveless shirt underneath. Then without any hesitation he hoisted himself up onto the examination table. Well if she had thought he was handsome before, she thought he was absolutely gorgeous now. Not only was he well sculpted, with slender muscles and a broad chest and shoulders, but parts of said shoulders and chest were mapped with tattoos.

Just the thought of it now made her shiver when she heard the Wraith chuckle behind her. 'Shit! I forgot!' she thought to herself as she walked over to the table next to her computer. She needed a few more blood samples and then she wanted to do a few serum tests. Though Serena wasn't anywhere near having a real cure, she was making some headway. The Wraith waited patiently for her to ask something of him. He remembered how she had looked at him the week before when she asked him to again remove his coat and shirt. She had used a scanner to see how his feeding hand functioned and asked him some more personal questions about his feeding habits.

-(The Present)-

'She looks so lovely when she's absorbed in her work,' he thought to himself with a slightly amused look on his face. Serena looked at him slightly confused and said, "And what, pray tell, is so amusing today... did you make Rodney run to the other side of his lab again? Or have you actually found something useful for your project?"

'She's quick...' he thought, 'I like that.' But he didn't say a word as she came over to him and motioned for him to get undressed. He did so, slowly, and watched her face as inch after agonizing inch of skin was exposed. 'Dear God!' Serena thought as he continued to remove his coat and slowly put it on the back of one of the lab chairs. Then standing before her with a smile on his face, he held out his right arm, as was expected. She just looked at it at first, and then looked at the still smiling Wraith's face and said, "Don't get cute with me." He then made a face of faked innocence and confusion at her statement. Serena smiled as she took a sample of his blood. She touched his tattooed skin ever so gently, as if she would hurt him if she wasn't careful. He had smiled at her care, and simply said she could punch him if she wanted to and he wouldn't break. She had smirked at his comment as she went about getting her samples. He was teasing her and she knew that it was all just a game to him, and if he had the chance he might use her to get what he wanted. However, Serena was of the opinion that until he proved himself unworthy of her trust she would continue trusting he would behave himself.

'After all...' she thought as he put his coat back on, 'his antics have been harmless thus far and he has never acted on his hints or suggestions...though he seems to enjoy making Rodney squirm as often as he can.' At that moment he turned and smiled at her, and this time it was a smile that would rival Lucifer's wickedness. It was the kind of smile that would make a nun blush. Serena's knees felt weak. She watched him like a hawk as he moved to the door to head back to McKay's lab. Marines were quickly on either side of him as he turned to face her again saying, "Would you walk with me back to the lab? I wish to discuss your latest finds." His voice, though it had the double tone his race was known for, was deep and rough, but his words were gentle. He held out his now restrained feeding hand to her. Serena didn't hesitate to take it, thinking she could use a break anyway, and walked out the door.

McKay's lab was just down the hall, and in the minutes it took to get to his lab, Serena had already told the Wraith that the research was coming along faster than she expected. "In all honesty, I think it might be because you yourself may be one of the first generation of Wraith. Those who were born instead of...grown." The Wraith smiled at her, hesitsting to speak about his race's reproduction methods, and said, "Actually there are many more Wraith who are born rather than grown. We only use the method of cloning when we are in desperate need of more soldiers, and even then, they are only drones. Commanding officers are born from either a Queen, or from female breeders who are in need of a companion." Serena looked up at the Wraith and said, "So you do have mates then?" He closed his eyes and chuckled slightly saying, "Indeed we do, but whether or not we stay in a female's favor is another matter."

McKay was still fiddling with the Wraith's calculations when they entered with the marines. "Oh good, you're back. I need you to look these over and see if they'll work in the new shutdown command..." Rodney didn't even look up from his work as he took a tablet and continued to talk as he walked to his own computers. "Then we need to run through the sub-routine again and make sure there aren't any glitches." Serena rolled her eyes as the Wraith moved to his work space. "Well hello to you too, Rodney," she said in a sarcastically caring tone. The Wraith began the slow process of going through the modified code and then running the program tests to see if it would work. Rodney did look up at that point, but only to give Serena a 'don't bug me' look. At that point Serena stuck out her tongue at him, which the Wraith found highly amusing...one because it made McKay growl saying, 'Oh yes, very mature'; and two she looked very cute when she did it. At that point the Wraith shook his head, as if to clear it of all thoughts other than his work, and went back to looking over the modified data.

Serena was about to head back to her lab when an alarm started going off. The whole place was ringing with sirens, and the computers showed the emergency lockdown had been activated. McKay was going nuts trying to shut off the lockdown while yelling into his communicator at Zelenka to try different shutdown commands with Carter's help. Then the power shut off and heat, light and communications were gone. That's when Sheppard appeared at the door to the lab yelling for everyone to get out and head to the gate room. Rodney didn't have to be told twice as he ran through the door with the marines. The Wraith, however, stayed put still working on his calculations. Serena pulled on his shoulder saying, "If we don't hurry we're going to be locked-" At that moment the door to the lab shut and locked, leaving them both trapped, as she finished saying, "locked in."

The Wraith looked at her somewhat surprised that she had tried to get him out. True, in the confusion he might have been able to escape, but he had no intention of leaving his work only half finished. 'This human is interesting indeed', he thought as he turned back to his work. Serena watched him for a minute or two and then plopped down in a chair next to him saying, "So, you want to stay trapped like a rat instead of making a run for it. What are you trying to prove by staying in a place where the people are likely to turn you into a science project when the shutdown command is finished?" The Wraith looked at her for a moment, then smiled saying, "I never leave my work unfinished. As for being a...science project, I do believe that is your department. Aren't I , what humans call, 'lab rat'? You run tests and take samples from me hoping to learn more about my kind. Isn't that the definition of a science project?"

Now that made Serena sit up in her seat and look at him with real anger for the first time, as she said, " Have I ever treated you like a 'lab rat'? Have my tests been so unpleasant that you have dreaded coming to see me everyday? Have I offended you and never apologized for it? I have never seen you as a science project, and I never will. I see you as a patient, a companion, and over these last few weeks I've even begun to think of you as a friend. But if you think my friendship is based on how much I can get out of you before a dissection, you've got another thing coming buster!" She yelled the last part, making the Wraith stare at her wide eyed, as she turned away from him apparently to ignore him.

He couldn't remember the last time he had been yelled at. Even in the new Hive he had come to Atlantis in, the Queen had yet to yell at him. Though he was sure if she had, there would be hell to pay for making her that angry. This small human was no Queen, but she could certainly act like one when push came to shove. The Wraith didn't know why that pleased him, but it did. So he reached over and turned Serena's chair back around to face him, saying, "Forgive me." Serena looked at him somewhat surprised. He never apologized to anyone, as far as she knew, but here he was asking her for forgiveness. She didn't realize she was staring until the Wraith tilted his head saying, "Are you well, Serena?" Serena shook her head and then looked at him again in shock, because he had used her name. In the few conversations that they had managed to have over these weeks of working together, he had only called her by her last name like he did with everyone else. Yet again he had surprised her by calling her name.

This time Serena caught herself before she began staring at him again, and said, "I'm fine, but why would you ask for forgiveness from me...a lowly human?" The Wraith smiled at her confusion. He had no idea why it pleased him so much to see her like this, even more so than when McKay would shiver at his latest threat. The Wraith turned back to his work saying, "You have earned my respect, and as such, I will do my best not to offend you again." Serena stared at his back as he worked and slowly allowed a smile to creep across her face as she watched him work. She thought, 'Maybe he and I can get along. Who knows? If all goes well maybe the Colonel will honor their agreement and let him go when their work is finished.' But as she was thinking she also knew that it would be a long time before either the Wraith or anyone on Atlantis would trust the other. 'I guess that's where he and I are different,' she though as he continued to work. 'We at least trust each other to a point. I hope that we can learn to trust each other even more before all this is over.' With that thought, she picked up one of the nearby tablets and started playing a game of solitaire while waiting for McKay and the others to unlock the doors.

-(Meanwhile, in the gate room...)-

"What do you mean she's not with you?" yelled Sheppard as scientists ran about to different computers trying to figure out why the lockdown was triggered. McKay looked up from one of the gate room computers, saying, "Well it wasn't like you asked for a head count once we got out. Anyway, shouldn't she have run out as soon as you said to run?" Sheppard had a dangerous look in his eyes as Teyla and Ronan came up the steps to the command center. "Where is Doctor Marlo?" asked Teyla as she and Ronan looked around in the chaos to find her. McKay lifted up his head before Sheppard could respond saying, "Oh she's just fine! She's just locked in my lab with our ever so kind and harmless resident Wraith! And don't try to pin this on me. She was the one who decided to run back into the room with the Wraith. She probably was going to try to get him out of the room too, though the whole idea was to trap him in there by himself so we wouldn't have to worry about where he was during this whole mess. Why haven't you tried the shutdown stream yet?" he yelled at Zelenka as he moved to the next computer.

Sheppard looked at his two other team members and explained that in all the commotion they didn't know she had stayed behind until they had gotten to the gate room. At this point, Carter came out of her office saying, "Has there been any progress?" McKay looked up again, saying, "None, but we may have a clue about how the system was triggered." She nodded for McKay to continue. "Well it looks like even though we managed to get the program up and running with all our sensors in place, it would seem that just going near one of them while doing maintenance is what set it off. I thought I had told Zelenka to set up a program that would only activate if we had any unwanted guests, and even then it would require a coded command from one of the senior staff to initiate the lockdown, but..." "We get the point Rodney. Now how do we go about shutting off the lockdown?" asked Carter, as everyone in Sheppard's team looked at him. McKay shifted from one foot to the other saying, "Well yes...I haven't quite figured that out yet."

Carter shook her head as the others rolled their eyes, and McKay said, "Hey I might be a whizz at these things, but I'm not a magician!" and went back to typing on his computer. At that moment Carter looked around the command center and said, "Where's Doctor Marlo?" Sheppard winced and said, "Yeah, well...she sort of stayed in Rodney's lab." Carter looked at Sheppard, her eyes sharp and focused saying, "She's in McKay's lab? With the Wraith?" "Yeah, that's pretty much it." said Sheppard as Ronan and Teyla watched for Carter's reaction. Carter thought about this for a moment, and said, "She didn't run out when you told everyone to get to the gate room?" Sheppard nodded as Teyla said, "According to Rodney, she had intended to run out, but she went back in when she realized the Wraith was not following. Now she and the Wraith are both locked inside the lab."

"You would think she would have better self preservation skills then to stay in a room with a loose Wraith," said Ronan gruffly. Everyone knew he didn't particularly like the new Doctor because of her kind and caring manner toward their Wraith. But he did have a point. Why would she risk getting trapped with a Wraith? That's when Sheppard interjected saying, "Rodney thinks she was trying to help the Wraith get out of the lab so he wouldn't get trapped inside, but she didn't move fast enough and got herself caught inside with him." Carter looked at McKay, who was now yelling at another scientist about his incompetence, and said, "Didn't she know that the whole idea was to keep him in one place so we could find a way to fix this problem without having to worry about where he was?" Sheppard shrugged saying, "Well if the thought had crossed her mind she didn't like the plan, that's for sure. She's never really liked how we treat him, and has always gone to great lengths to see that he's at least in a tolerable, if not comfortable, situation. She even lets him walk around her lab without restraints, and lets him look over her work, saying, 'an extra pair of eyes, and a new perspective couldn't hurt.'"

At that moment McKay came over to the group and said, "Communications are still down but I did manage to get the surveillance cameras in my lab to work so we can at least keep an eye on them." He handed Carter a computer tablet, and sure enough there were four different cameras at different angles in the room so they could see everything that was going on inside. Everyone in their group gathered around to see if Serena was alright, only to be shown her and the Wraith sitting next to each other. He working on the Replicator shutdown, and she playing her third game of solitaire sitting within two feet of each other. To say that the group was relieved was an understatement, as they continued to watch. McKay kept whirling about, slowly getting things back up and running, even though he stopping every once in a while to peek at the tablet screen in Carter's grasp.

As time went on, and the day turned into night, the lack of heat and light was proving to be a bit of a problem. In Rodney's lab, which was at the center of the city, it was getting cold. As Carter watched Serena curl up on her chair for warmth, she noted that the Wraith showed no signs of being cold. He just sat there and kept on working while Serena curled into herself as tight as she could trying to stay warm. At some point Rodney restored some of the communication lines, but the lines to his lab were still inactive. "Well I might be able to get the microphones on the cameras working, and then we can hear what they're saying to each other, but that's all I'll be able to get at the moment." McKay said when asked. "Do it." Carter said as she went back to watching the screen.

-(Back in McKay's Lab...)-

Serena shivered for what seemed like the hundredth time as she wondered when McKay would get the heaters up and running again. 'I swear, I'm freezing my ass off here. If he doesn't get the heat back before I freeze to death, I will come back to haunt his ass until he's either crazy or commits suicide!' she thought to herself as she looked over at her companion. He wasn't even the slightest bit bothered by the coldness in the room. 'Lucky,' she thought as she rubbed her arms to get some feeling back into them. The Wraith noted her movements and simply said, "You should sit closer if you're cold." Serena looked at him, but his eyes were still glued to his computer screen. She tilted her head as she thought, 'Why would he want me to sit closer? Surely he isn't too hungry yet.' Her thoughts were interrupted as he said, "I'm not going to feed on you. Even if I did, Sheppard would kill me as soon as the door was unlocked. This would leave Dr. McKay to finish the coding on his own and that is not an option since he cannot even make a viable modification without my help. And, as I told you before, I never leave a task unfinished. So, will you sit closer? Or would you rather freeze because of your suspicions?"

She was taken aback by his words, and realized she had in some small way perhaps hurt him with her hesitation, as well as, her thoughts of his need to feed. How could she claim to be his friend if she continued to be suspicious about his motives? She was very cold, that was obvious, and he was offering warmth, no more and no less. So Serena got out of her chair, walked over to him, and before she could change her mind she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and said, "I'm sorry. I say I'm your friend, but friends don't treat each other like I just treated you. I'm sorry." He was surprised, more by her actions then her words. He knew she hadn't meant to offend him with her thoughts. It was a real concern having her so close when he needed to feed though his hunger wasn't nearly as bad as it had been with Sheppard almost a year ago when they were both prisoners of the Genii. Serena was more than welcome to sit close to him if she wanted to, and she did just that... she sat herself on his lap.

Her legs were laid across his as she sat on his right thigh with her head on his shoulder. The Wraith was surprised, but only for a moment. He readjusted himself so that she was sitting on the edge of the seat with him. His legs were on either side of hers, and she was short enough that he could see his screen above her head. Then wrapping his arms around her waist he was able to reach the keyboard so he could keep on typing. Serena was a bit surprised at the position she was now in, but she was warm and she knew he wouldn't hurt her. So, she took her tablet and started her sixtieth game of solitaire, not knowing that she and her companion were being watched and heard.

Everyone watching in the command center was shocked at what they were seeing and hearing while the temperature continued to drop. The labs had to be feeling like the inside of a freezer locker, and Serena's shivering had started up again. She tried to keep it down but her body wouldn't cooperate. After a while the Wraith moved again. This time he leaned away from her. 'I hope I haven't disturbed him,' she thought. But just as her thoughts finished he lifted her up and turned her so she was facing him. He then arranged her legs so they were straddling his hips and her chest was against his. "Lay your head on my shoulder," he said. She looked at him slightly confused and still a bit surprised, both at their position and the fact that he put her there.

He smiled at her and said, "I can tell you're tired and you're very cold. In this position you'll be much warmer and you won't fall face first off the chair while you sleep." Serena shook herself slightly and said, "But won't I be more in the way now?" As soon as those words left her mouth she knew that it was stupid, but the Wraith smiled and said, "You're small enough that I can reach around you to get to the keyboard, and if you lay your head on my shoulder I'll be able to see the screen." 'Of course,' Serena thought sarcastically to herself. The Wraith smiled as she laid her head on his right shoulder. Serena smiled to herself and snuggled in closer to him thinking, 'You've just earned my full trust. I hope I can do the same before you leave.' "You already have," he said out loud as he kept typing away. Serena smiled to herself as sleep began to creep in on her. The Wraith smiled to himself as he looked up at one of the active cameras thinking, 'This will be very interesting to explain to Sheppard once the lockdown is over.'


	4. Chapter 3

The New Girl

Chapter Three

It had taken hours of work, but Rodney had finally managed to find a way to by-pass the lockdown program. The only problem was that teams would have to open every door manually allowing for anyone who was in need of medical attention out of the locked rooms before he tried to reboot the system. "Then I should be able to get everything up and running again...theoretically." Everyone turned to Rodney with a semi exasperated expression on their faces, as they readied themselves to pry open the door to Rodney's lab.

From what they could see on the computer tablet, which Carter was still holding, the Wraith had shutdown all of the computers in the lab. Backing up the Replicator shutdown command onto a dice, so the cold would not destroy all their hard work. After he had finished his task, he went over to the small leather couch that McKay kept in his lab for when he worked all nighters, and where the Wraith had put Serena so he could move about the lab. Serena was shivering uncontrollably now and the Wraith had removed his leather coat to cover her, but it didn't seem to be doing much good.

The Wraith watched Serena for a few moments as she shivered under his coat. Then carefully and gently he settled himself behind her so her back was against his chest. He then wrapped his arms around her chest pulling her tightly to him so his body-heat might sink in, though he was beginning to feel the cold shutting him down. 'Just like on the Hive,' he thought to himself as the age old feeling of hibernation started to take hold of him. 'No I have to stay awake,' he thought as he looked down at the girl in his arms. He had no idea why, or when he began to care for her, but he did and he wouldn't let her die before he repaid her kindness in full.

-(Outside Rodney's Lab)-

*Crack!* "I think that's it Colonel," said the Sargent as the men pulled the doors open. The ice was making it difficult to slide the door along like it was supposed to, but it was open. And the sight that greeted Sheppard and his team was shocking to say the least. The whole place was like and ice palace, and the heat from the outside was making the whole lab fog up like a bog. "Alright, move in one at a time and keep an eye on each other, remember we've got a loose Wraith in here," said Sheppard as Ronon and Teyla moved forward. At that moment there was movement from the back of the lab.

Everyone froze in place, weapons poised at a large black mass heading their way, then they heard it, "Sheppard?" The deep and rough double toned voice was unmistakable, as the Wraith came out of the mist carrying a very cold and unconscious Serena wrapped in his coat. "Lower your weapons!" said Sheppard, knowing Ronan was the only one who wouldn't comply, and stepped forward as the Wraith came closer.

The Wraith stopped just in front of Sheppard and without any hesitation handed Doctor Marlo to him saying, "She's unconscious, get her to Dr. Keller before she freezes!" Sheppard didn't need to be told twice, and he ran down the hall ways as quickly as he could holding Serena tight. Her body was shaking uncontrollably as he entered medical. "Keller!" he yelled as he headed over to an empty bed and laid Serena down.

Dr. Keller came running in to see Sheppard covering Serena with as many blankets as he could. "What happened?" She asked as she began to look Serena over. Sheppard explained how along with the lights and communications being down in the labs, the heat shut off too. "My team and I just managed to get the door open and the Wraith just gave her to me. He didn't try to escape or anything, just handed her to me saying to get her here as quickly as I could, which, believe me, I would have done anyway, but he sounded...I...guess concerned. Like he..." Keller waited for him to continue, but it was like he couldn't, or wouldn't because after a moment he shook his head saying, "You know what I don't know what was going through his head, but if he thinks this is going to get me to fully trust him, he couldn't be more wrong."

"Oh?" said Keller as if she had just started to take interest in the matter. She knew the Wraith in question had helped Sheppard escape from Kolya a while back, and though they weren't on friendly terms per say they did trust each other, to an extent. Sheppard looked over at Serena saying, "She's playing with fire, and I think she knows it. I just hope she knows that whatever she thinks she has with the Wraith, be it friendship or otherwise, it may only last as long as he's our...guest." Keller watched Sheppard as he left wondering what he meant by Serena playing with fire. She had seen Dr. Marlo and the Wraith flirt with each other, but nothing ever came of it, really. However, she did understand what the Wraith could do, and that if given the chance they wouldn't hesitate to get what they wanted, even if it meant killing one of their own kind. Keller looked down at her patient, who fortunately was free of frost bite and was now sleeping soundly, and thought, 'She maybe too kind, but maybe kindness is the only way to keep things from going down hill.'

-(Cell Block)-

The Wraith looked up as the door to his cell opened. Sheppard walked in looking grim, the Wraith felt something clench inside him, a slight whence was all anyone would have seen if they'd been looking for it. Though it unnerved the Wraith that he felt so much, and felt it for a human, he steeled himself and said, "Dr. Marlo is...?" "She's alive." Sheppard answered while he gaged the Wraith's reaction to the news. The Wraith was relieved but he didn't let it show, instead he simply said, "That is good to hear otherwise you'd need a new Geneticist for your little project, and I doubt you have someone as talented as Miss Marlo to fill the position."

Sheppard was taken back by his words, though they were said with little feeling, he had a sneaking suspicion that their was more weight to those words then anyone present, save the Wraith, knew. John watched the Wraith for a moment more and said, "Serena's the best in her field, and we don't have anyone to replace her. I suppose I should thank you for keeping her alive, but I get the feeling there's more to this picture." At that moment the Wraith arced a brow at him, as if he had no idea what Sheppard was talking about, but John could see something in the Wraith's eyes shift. Sheppard was about to call him on it, when Colonel Carter came in, along with Dr. Keller and McKay.

The Wraith looked at Carter and then Dr. Keller expectantly, which also was not lost on Sheppard. Carter cleared her throat saying, "I never thought I would be saying this..." "Then don't!" interrupted McKay looking like a child that had just lost an argument they knew they couldn't win as Carter went on, "But, I wanted to thank you for saving Dr. Marlo. Though she maybe the best in her field she's also our friend. She would be greatly missed, so thank you." The Wraith looked a bit surprised at the thanks, but bowed his head, respectfully excepting her thanks. Carter went on, "Dr. Keller tells me that Miss Marlo is stable, and will recover." At that point everyone turned to Keller as she said, "She's very lucky she didn't get frost bite, and as long as we keep her warm and get some fluids in her she'll be up and about in a few days."

Everyone was pleased with this and John noted the extra spark that glowed in the Wraith's eye at the news. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but for now Sheppard decided to leave it be. His team had work to do, getting people out of closed off sections, and removing ice from the labs and storage rooms. But, he made a note to keep a bit of a closer eye on the goings on between Serena and the Wraith from now on, thinking, 'Lets see were this goes.'

-(Medical)-

Serena sighed as she opened her eyes to bright lights and the smell of sterile sheets and antibiotics. Though she knew where she was without looking around she did so anyway, to see if He was there, but there was no one in the room with her. 'Of course they would lock him up after he saved my life.' she thought to herself as she looked around the room again. Then her eyes fell on the leather coat.

She could vaguely remember the Wraith wrapping her in it before she went completely unconscious. It hadn't made much of a difference as the lab had gotten colder, but she could still remember the slight warmth it held from him as he had wrapped it tightly around her. Serena laid back and thought about those moments, how the Wraith had offered his body heat and then, in the last moments before she slipped into darkness, he had wrapped the coat and himself around her. Serena knew she should have been afraid for her life in those moments, but she had felt no fear. In fact, she couldn't recall having ever felt so protected in her life, like the Wraith wasn't just trying to keep her warm. He was trying to shield her from ever feeling the cold.

It was then that Serena tried to get up, but found herself held to the I.V. drip. So with great care she unhooked the I.V. and pulled the needle out, and then she shakily got to her feet. Then Serena made her way toward the table that held the Wraith's coat. Dr. Keller came just at the moment that Serena had reached the table and had pulled the coat to her chest. Keller was so shocked to see her walking about that it took her a moment to finally find the words to speak as Serena sat back down on the bed the coat clutched close to her. "You shouldn't be up and about, you still need to rest." Serena looked up, having just now noticed Keller, saying, "I'm fine, just...a bit cold." Serena wrapped the worn leather around her shoulders as she said the last bit, and smiled when she looked down at the too long sleeves around her arms.

Keller watched her for a moment, curious as to why she would want the Wraith's coat instead of another blanket. But, as she watched her patient pull the coat in tight and lay back in bed with a contented sigh, she began to under stand what Sheppard had meant. Serena had feelings for the Wraith; until now, Keller had always thought of their relationship as a teasing friendship, with only the continued corporation of the Wraith being the deciding factor of whether or not they continued to be friends. However, now Keller could see this was not the case, at least not for Serena. She had deep feelings for the Wraith, and Keller had no idea if it was good or not if the Wraith knew about it.

She was so deep in thought that Keller didn't hear Serena at first, but with a shout of, "Keller!" from her patient, Keller was all ears. "Yes?" she asked as she moved about Serena's bed. Serena watched her for a moment to make sure she wasn't going to stick her with another needle, and then she spoke, "I was wondering if the Wraith was alright? Is he still in the lab, or have they locked him back in his cell?" Keller looked at Serena and wondered if she should tell her the truth, but never being one to lie she said, "Sheppard has put him back in his cell, and the last I herd they were doubling the guard detail assigned to him for his time outside his cell."

Keller had predicted that Serena wouldn't be happy with the news of more security, but she hadn't thought it would make her so upset that she demanded to see Sheppard. "If he isn't down here within ten minutes by God, I will march right up to Ops and drag him back down here by his ear whether you think I'm fit or not!" Now that was a threat that Keller was in no hurry to witness coming to fruition, so she got on the com and asked if Sheppard could come to the infirmary.


	5. Chapter 4

The New Girl

Chapter Four

John Sheppard walked down the hall with the look of a high school student that just got told off by his teacher. 'Damn it I'm not a kid!' he thought to himself as he continued on down to the cell block at the bottom of Atlantis. As he arrived at the door to the Wraith's cell he thought back on what had go on not fifteen minutes ago up in the Medical Bay.

"I don't care about what you think he's thinking, all I know is that he saved my life and in my book that goes a long way to proving a person's integrity!" yelled Serena, while Keller went to the medicine cabinet to find something to calm her patient down. Sheppard on the other hand just glared at Serena and said, "Integrity, I don't even know if there is such a thing as far as the Wraith are concerned! If he had wanted to he could have fed on you and there would have been no way for us to get to you!" "But he didn't, which says to me that he is more like us then you think!" "Or he just didn't want to get shot as soon as we got the doors open!"

Serena had had enough, she wasn't going to let them push the Wraith around just because they thought he was up to something. "John..." she said in a calm and dangerous voice. "I'm only going to say this once, if there are going to be extra security measures taken to further restrict the Wraith, I will not, and I repeat...I will not, have anything to do with finishing your project." Sheppard looked like he was about to shoot her when Keller came up and held out her hand for Serena's arm. Serena gave it without a fuss, but her eyes were still on Sheppard as she said, "Do I make myself clear, Colonel?"

Keller held her breath as Sheppard paced back and forth in front of Serena's bed. He stopped and looked up at the bed's occupant, and then down at the floor. Finally with an irritated sigh he said, "Can I at least put one extra guard in Rodney's Lab?" Now it was Serena's turn to be silent for a few moments, and then she said, "Just in his Lab?" Sheppard nodded, "Everywhere else it'll be the usual two person guard, escort and one guard outside your Lab; but I at least want to know Rodney is safe from your foolishness." Serena glared at him saying, "I would think after he helped you escape from the Genii, you would be more open to the possibility that maybe he wants this project to be a success just as much as you do? But, then I suppose that's asking to much of a soldier."

Sheppard growled slightly at that last bit, but didn't say anything as he watched Serena fiddle with the Wraith's coat. "Is it too much to ask if you could bring him up to visit me?" He looked up at her, then at Dr. Keller and then back to Serena. She arced an eyebrow at him say, "I'd like to thank him, and return his coat." Sheppard considered this and again looked at Dr. Keller, who simply shrugged. 'Oh you're a big help!' he thought to himself as he stormed out of the Medical Bay with a gruff, "Fine!"

Now here he was in front of the Wraith's cell ready to take him on his little field trip up to see Serena. 'I'm not a damn chaperone!' he thought as the guards moved aside to let him through the door. There at the center of the cell, sitting, in what looked to be a meditative position, was the Wraith. A look of complete indifference on his face. 'Arrogant basterd!' thought Sheppard as he walked over to the side of the cell and opened the door saying, "The damsel in distress wants to thank her gallant knight." The Wraith stirred and gave him a confused look as he stood. John just shook his head and said, "Just follow me, Sir. Wraith. Serena would like to see you." A look Sheppard didn't quite catch flickered across the Wraith's face and after a moment of silence the Wraith said, "Very well."

The guards moved forward and went through the ritual of fitting the Wraith with the restraints. John stood propped against the door, brooding over his argument with Serena when finally the last strap was in place and locked down. The Wraith walked to the door, stopping before Sheppard at the exit saying, "Lead the way." There was a bit of sarcasm in his voice, but Sheppard ignored it. He didn't have the time or patience to deal with the Wraith's games. So he lead the company of two guards and the Wraith up to the infirmary.

As they entered Keller had just finished checking Serena over to make sure she hadn't over exerted herself in her argument with Sheppard. Serena looked up and the first thing she saw were the guards and then her eyes found the restraints. 'How curl we humans can be.' she thought to herself pulling the leather coat up to her chin. The Wraith noted her thoughts and her movements, and was touched by her concern for him. He continued to watch her movements as she turned her attention to Sheppard, saying, "Are the restraints really necessary? I doubt he would save my life just to kill me while I'm recovering."

Sheppard humphed and said, "You just asked to see him, you didn't say anything about cutting him loose." Serena clenched her hands in the leather that covered her saying, "Allowing him the ability to move freely while we talk is not cutting him loose, especially if there are guards just right outside the door." Sheppard was about to argue when Keller stepped in saying, "Please don't start again, she needs more rest if she's going to get better and I don't want to have to give her another sedative." At that point Serena took a deep breath and said, "Would you please unchain him and wait outside?" The Wraith looked at Sheppard, wondering if he would comply, though he highly doubted he would.

After a few moments of silence, Sheppard told the guards to wait outside. He took hold of the Wraith's restraints and began to unfasten them. As soon as the Wraith was free, Sheppard nodded to Keller saying, "Maybe you should wait outside too. This is her idea and I don't want to take a chance of you suffering for it." Keller was about to protest, but thought better of it and simply followed Sheppard out.

When the doors shut Serena growled throwing the ichey sheets off of herself, saying, "Damn him, and damn his rules." She stood up on slightly shaky legs. the Wraith watched her as she moved toward him slowly, but surely. She was only three feet away when one of her knees gave out. He caught her before she hit the ground and took her up in his arms. Serena was surprised by his boldness as he walked to the bed and set her down, saying "You should rest if you and I are going to continue our search for a cure." "Cure?" she repeated. He looked a bit uneasy and slightly embarrassed, but it was gone in an instant as he said, "We must continue to look for a treatment."

Serena shook her head and looked right in his eyes saying, "You said cure, what do you mean by that?" The Wraith looked away from her, but she lifted her hand to his face. She turned him back to face her, gently running her fingers over the star shaped tattoo which framed his left eye. His eyes were closed, though she couldn't read his expression, she could feel his enjoyment at her touch. He let a small growl almost a purr leave his lips, as her hands caressed his face. She let her hands wonder into his hair, and she smiled as she found it be very soft and smooth despite it's unkept look. Her hands went further still, reaching the back of his neck, her fingers brushed against something hard and ridged.

Curious, she brushed her fingers against the ridges she had often gazed upon when he undressed for her examinations. The bonelike structures traveled from the second vertebra down to just above the tail bone, starting small and growing to about an inch and a half to two inches tall between the shoulders, then fading back into the skin like serpent. As her hands ran on these spines the Wraith's breath hitched, and he pushed her away from him. Surprise and shock painted his face for a few moments and then pure confusion. He didn't understand his emotions, nor why they were so strong, and Serena was making it worse with her acts of kindness.

Serena watched him thinking she had done something wrong, saying, "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" The Wraith was again confused, but then grinned saying, "No, it didn't hurt, they're just very...sensitive." She blushed then, realizing what he meant. He smiled even wider at her embarrassment, but his mind was still confused over how he felt. She touched him very deeply with her actions.

He watched her fiddle with the hem of his leather coat. After a moment or two she looked up and then back down. Realization spread across her face as she lifted the coat up and handed it to him saying, "Thank you. If it weren't for you I would have frozen to death." 'Death' he shivered slightly, that was the one thing he couldn't and wouldn't think about when it came to her. He took the coat and slipped it on his shoulders with ease. After the clasps were fastened he looked up at her. She was staring at him, a look of wonder and contentment on her face. Licking her lips she looked as if she was about to say something. Something he knew was only meant for him to hear, when the doors opened and Sheppard along with Ronan and Keller walked in.

Serena sighed in agitation as Keller told her to lie down and get some rest. Sheppard already had the guards strapping the Wraith up to head back to his cell, but the Wraith didn't seem to take notice of them. His eyes were still on Serena as she laid back in bed, he could feel her irritation at being interrupted, but agreed she needed rest. It was when he was just about to be lead back to his cell when he heard her, 'If you can hear me, know that you have at least one who cares for you.' In that moment he could feel the care she bore for him and it filled him with such warmth that he never even noticed when he was back in his cold cell waiting for when McKay would need him.


	6. Chapter 5

The New Girl 

Chapter 5

Serena's time in medical didn't last long. After her meeting with the Wraith a few days ago she had complied with everything Keller asked of her. From examinations to testing her joints and skin to make sure there were no lingering affects from her nearly becoming an ice-cube. She passed and was now headed back to her lab with a promise to Keller that she wouldn't over due it.

As she passed Rodney's lab she noted that the Wraith wasn't there, nor was Rodney.

'Odd.' she thought to herself as she entered her lab. She knew Rodney was always in his lab if he hadn't been called to go on a mission. And, even if he had, the Wraith would still be expected to keep working without him. Though not without Zelenka babysitting. She could just picture the first time Rodney had told Zelenka he had Wraith watching duty.

"All I'm asking you to do is watch him, and make sure he doesn't do anything he shouldn't with the shutdown command." says imagined Rodney, with Zelenka looking like he was just told he was going to be cleaning up toxic waist with a shovel and oven mitts.

Serena couldn't help but giggle at the image as she put her lab coat over her green Scooby-doo shirt and blue jeans. The Wraith seemed to like her taste in clothes, or at least every time he saw one of her more childish shirts he would ask about it. Like what were the characters depicted called, what did the symbol of a large 'S' within a triangle indicate, or what did the phrase 'Kawabunga' mean. Serena smiled at that last one.

'Oh that had been a fun day.' she though as her computer finished loading. Come to think of it, she missed not seeing him the whole time she had been stuck in medical. Her lab had been left alone, so she could only guess that if Keller had put in any time working on this project it had been going through her notes. Serena had made sure to email every bit of her research and progress to Keller and Colonel Carter. It had been very clear from the start that everything to do with this project was going to be monitored.

"I hate being watched." Serena said as her thoughts wondered to the Wraith. No doubt he was used to being watched, he had been on Atlantis longer then she had. All the same it didn't sit well with Serena, having every move you make recorded. Cameras were strewed all over Atlantis, but where most concentrated in the Gate room, medical, and the labs.

'No doubt that's what had made Sheppard so edgy when he managed to get into Rodney's lab, he'd been spying on us.' she thought, and it made her angry.

'He thinks there something going on between the Wraith and me!' She was about to head up to command to give him a piece of her mind about his stupid assumptions, but she stopped mid stride to her door, thinking,

'Were they really stupid, or is there something other then friendship between us?' Serena had to admit she found the Wraith to be quite attractive, and not just in his looks and build, but his mind held a vast and seemingly endless wealth of information. She was so confused, did she really feel for him in a romantic sense or was it all just teasing? Serena shook her head and then headed out the door with a new destination in mind.

She had never liked the cell block at the bottom of Atlantis. It was dark and cold, although it seemed that the cold didn't have much affect on the Wraith until it got to the point of freezing. Even so, Serena made a mental note to bring the Wraith a blanket when she had the chance. As she rounded the corner to where the Wraith should have been locked in his cell she was stunned to find the place empty. The cell was open with no guards and no Wraith to be found.

'Where could he be?' she thought to herself as she entered the cell. She had never been in one before and she knew she would never want to be stuck in one. The place was completely barren, nothing to even sit on, let alone sleep. She didn't even want to know how someone was suppose to relieve themselves seeing as there was also no toilet.

As she exited the cell a soldier rounded the corner jolting her from her thoughts. He had a confused look on his face until he saw her name tag and said,

"Sorry Doc, the Wraith is no longer in residence on Atlantis."

'Oh great I get smart ass to tell me what I already kno...wait a minute!' she thought.

"What do you mean he's no longer in Atlantis?!" she growled, making the guy jump slightly, but he quickly recovered himself, saying,

"The Colonel took him on a mission to possibly negotiate the Wraith into joining us in an attack on the Replicator home world." Serena was surprised and a bit pleased to know that Sheppard had taken the Wraith on a mission of such importance. Plus, if they were going to attack the Replicators, it meant that the Wraith and Rodney had found a way to shut them off or something.

'Maybe now the Wraith can have a bit more rest.' she thought to herself as the soldier went on to say,

"It's a waist of time if you ask me, besides this might just be a ploy so the Wraith can make an escape attempt." Now that struck a cord.

Serena whirled on the soldier saying that the Wraith wouldn't do such a thing. The guy backed up with a confused expression on his face saying,

"But that's how the Wraith are. They think of their own survival first." Serena just stood there as the soldier made his way off to finish his rounds.

'Is that what he intends to do, leave?' She couldn't really blame him from the way he had been treated, but was that really all he was concerned about? Getting free? She shook her head berating herself for thinking like that. Just because others thought he would use this mission to his advantage, didn't mean she would.

'Innocent until proven guilty.' she thought to herself as she headed back up to her lab. Work always distracted her when she was on edge, and though she was determined to wait and see how things would unfold, she couldn't help but worry that he wouldn't come back.

'Stop it! Just focus on your work and they'll be back before you know it.' she thought as she put the next slide under her microscope.

It was several hours of work later when she heard the alarm warning of an incoming wormhole. Serena almost literally dropped her work before heading up to the Gate room. The puddle jumper came through the gate just as she had made it up to the command center. She watched as the jumper ascended to the docking chamber. As soon as the gate closed she headed down the halls with a feeling of worry and anticipation. She was about to make the last turn to the docking chamber, when she spotted Teyla and Ronan. They were holding hands, which she found a bit odd, but pushed it to the back of her mind as she caught up with them saying,

"So I'm guessing Sheppard is back too?" They both nodded saying that the mission was more of success then they had originally planned. This of course lead them into telling her about the Seven Hives that the Wraith had convinced to join them and then the surprise appearance of a woman named Larrin and her people's compliance to have five more ships join them as well.

"Well that's great! So we're that much closer to getting rid of a big pain in the ass." she said as they reached medical. She looked at her two companions over with concern, but neither seemed to be injured. When she looked up at them confused Teyla simply said,

"I was stunned, we all were when we arrived on the Wraith's Hive, and my condition has me worried that being stunned has caused some damage." Now Serena was really confused.

"What condition?" she asked as Keller came into the room saying,

"She's pregnant." Looking at Teyla she continued.

"I told you that other people would start to notice." Teyla smiled half-heartedly and went to sit on the examination table with Ronan standing in the door way. To say Serena was surprised was an understatement, but she shook off the shock when she remembered why she had been on her way to meet them.

"Did he come back with you?" she asked. Ronan looked confused, but Teyla understood and nodded saying that he had been taken back to Rodney's lab to help finish a few adjustments on their plan against the Replicators. Serena was filled with joy as she ran down the hall way causing several people to move out of her way or stop and stare, but she didn't care.

'He came back!' she kept saying to herself as she made it to Rodney's lab. The doors opened to revile Rodney and the Wraith hard at work reconfiguring a program for the attack. The Wraith looked up and Serena almost ran to him...almost. McKay also looked up and simply said,

"You can't have him." Serena's heart stopped for a moment and a look of shear disappointment filled her eyes as she turned to McKay. But, he had already forgotten she was there as he kept on typing. She looked at the Wraith as he too continued to work, but he would glance at her every few seconds, which made her heart speed up again. She turned to Rodney saying,

"What do you mean?" McKay looked up a bit annoyed that she was still there and said,

"I need his help with this program before I load it up into our new weapon, and after that he's coming to a war meeting with the rest of our captains and such so we can go over then plan. Now if you don't mind, we are a bit busy here." She new he was just stressed, but his words hurt. She looked at the Wraith hoping he would say something, but he kept his eyes on his work. So Serena just turned toward the door saying quietly,

"Sorry to disturb you."

The Wraith looked up from his screen just as the doors shut behind her. He tried to reach out to her with his mind, but she seemed to be quite hurt by him and wouldn't answer to his gentle nudges. This was rather odd, he thought to himself. Normally she would have been in McKay's face for talking to her like that, but instead she had looked to him, as if she expected something. What was he supposed to do, deny that their work was important?

'No.' he thought. She knew how important this plan was, but then what had she wanted him to do, or say? He reached out with his mind one more time, looking for her, and he found her in her lab. She was sitting at her desk as his mind brushed hers.

She tried to shake him off, but he wouldn't relent. Finally she gave up and let him into the very edge of her mind, asking,

'What?' She could feel his confusion and his distress at the fact that she was being so cold, but in a way she felt justified. She was worried that he wouldn't come back, that her friendship meant nothing to him, and she was beginning to think that it was true. But, as soon as those thoughts passed through her head she felt his mind tense as he growled in her head.

'I told you, I never leave anything unfinished. As for the cure, I wish to continue working with you to find it. Nothing will keep me from it.' She could feel the intensity of his resolve with his words, but with the last few it felt more like an endearment. Like he had just said the word 'it' in place of something else. Serena couldn't be sure, but regardless of what he had said or meant to say, she felt calm and reassured by his thoughts. And, the gentle and constant brushing of his mind kept her company while she worked.

Later that day the meeting for the attack was adjourned, everyone knowing what his or her role was in the plan. Serena was still in her lab finishing up with the latest samples that she had taken before her lock down in a deep freezer, when the Wraith appeared at her door with Sheppard. To say she was surprised was an understatement. She thought that he would be too busy with preparations to come see her before the fleet left. Sheppard stepped outside saying,

"Make it snappy, we don't have all day." The door closed behind him and the two guard escort. It took everything Serena had not to hug the Wraith, but she knew he could feel what she felt, and a smile broke out over her face as he grinned at her. Then he reached into his coat for something. He held up what looked to be a Wraith finger guard-claw fashioned into a necklace.

His movements were slow and deliberate as he fitted it around her neck saying,

"A reminder, that I will always come back to finish what I started." Serena looked him in the eyes as his hands fell to her shoulders.

"I honestly don't know what to say." she said to him, but he held up his hand for silence and spoke.

"There is no need for words between us. Though I'm beginning to understand the human need for expression." He smiled at her as her mind flooded thoughts and emotions, as her hands fingered the necklace. Though he was still confused about his connection to her the Wraith new that he liked to see her smile, and that he would not intentionally cause her pain, physical or emotional. These thoughts washed over her and she was about to ask if he felt something more then companionship, but the door opened and Sheppard said,

"Time to go." Serena glared at him.

'What is it with his constant bad timing?' she wondered as the guards stepped inside to escort the Wraith to the jumper bay.

"Farewell." said the Wraith as Sheppard lead him out into the hall. Serena followed just outside the door, and watched as he walked away with Sheppard. Again she felt that sense of worry and fear creep up inside her.

'What if he gets killed, or worse, captured?' her thoughts were in turmoil until that calming touch of him came to her again. The slight brush of his thoughts, so calm and sure, making her heart and mind calm themselves. Her hand went to the necklace he'd just given her, and she smiled saying to herself,

"He'll be back."


	7. Chapter 6

The New Girl

Chapter 6

-Commanding Hive-

It had been six hours since Sheppard had let the Wraith go to the commanding Hive to lead his brothers in the attack on the Replicator home-world. The Wraith relished the feeling of his underlings minds brushing his, giving him reports, checks on the defensive and offensive systems. Finally he felt the hyperspace window for their destination coming up fast, and let his body relax into the controls as he brought the Hive out of hyperspace, sending a mental command for all Wraith to man their stations. As the last streams of hyperspace dissipated and the allied fleet began their attack on the Replicator ships orbiting the planet, his thoughts went out to Serena, with a silent promise again that he would return.

-Back on Atlantis-

Serena had been unable to concentrate on anything for the last six and a half hours, and it was beginning to bug her. She had never had this kind of trouble finding something to do before.

'But then again, I never had a Wraith as a coworker before this little project.' she thought as she shutdown her laptop. 'If I can't work then I'll walk.' she thought as she headed for her quarters to get her ipod and sneakers, all the while thinking of what was going on with the fleet.

'Have they made it to the Replicator home-world? Was the battle going well? Has Rodney managed use his secret weapon yet? Was the Wraith alright?' With that last thought came a feeling as she entered her room. A feeling that wasn't her own, but filled her with calm reassurance that hadn't been there before. Serena had to sit on the bed for a few minutes to let her mind grasp what she had believed to only be possible when the Wraith was near by.

'Can he hear me?' she thought, 'Can you hear me?' But there was no answer, just that constant feeling of calm and certainty that her Wraith was alive and well. Though she couldn't reach him with her mind, she could feel his, and deep down she knew he could feel her though they could not speak. But, then like he said, there was no need for words.

Serena slipped on her shoes and placed her ipod on shuffle as she walked out the door, holding onto that feeling in the back of her mind as she walked through Atlantis. As her songs changed her pace changed and her emotions seemed to be received and then reciprocated, which she could only assumed was do to the battle being fought hundreds of light-years away. She could sense his excitement singing through her as she broke into a run, her music blaring in her ears. It was practically a high when she reached the outer walkways which wrapped around the command tower.

Wind whipped past her as she continued to run, her heart picking up speed along with her strides. But as she rounded the first turn around the tower she was hit with a sense of urgency, like there was something she needed but only had a limited amount of time to get it or...

'Or what?' she thought as she came to a halt in her run. 'What was making him so agitated?' she wondered, all the while fingering the necklace he gave her.

"What's going on out there?" she wondered out loud as she looked out onto the ocean, his necklace between her fingers as she let his emotions run through her, trying to make sense of them.

-Commanding Hive-

The Wraith watched as the planet began to break apart, his hands itching as he felt the ship responding to the planets gravitational pull. Soon this place would be engulfed in flame and melted rock, but he wasn't leaving not yet.

"The darts are on approach." said a young Wraith monitoring the ship systems and transmissions. Three signals told of the darts' arrival as the underling said, "We have them." And not a moment too soon, for as the Commander made the jump into hyperspace the planet was mer seconds away from exploding.

Once the ship was safely on it's way to the rondevu point set by Colonel Carter, the Wraith relaxed, and in the back of his mind he felt a slight response from far away. As he stood there at command he reached out with his mind, until he felt that familiar brush of worry and excitement.

'She can feel my thoughts, even now, so far from Atlantis?' His thoughts were interrupted as his fellow Wraith came in with the rematerialized cargo from the darts. The Wraith turned and inspected the ZPMs that the darts had managed to bring back from the Replicator city, but even though he had what he needed to begin creating his own fleet. His thoughts went back to Serena, and that little tingle at the back of his mind reminding him that she was waiting for him.

He had planned to return to Atlantis like he promised her, he just never thought he would be moved to do so, so soon. His plans were meant to give him a better advantage this time, so at least he would be able to come and go under his own power, or at least avoid be chained and escorted from one lab to another. Her mind reached out to him, and this time he could hear her thoughts, but only just barely. Was he going to come back. He will come back. He could feel her confidence and self assurance that he would. And now, because of it, he was willingly moving closer to where the remainder of the Atlantis fleet was positioned.

'How did it come to this?' he wondered, though he would never admit that deep down he knew the answer. Calling one of his officers to command he instructed for three ZPMs to be placed in a case for him to take with him on a dart when they reached the rondevu point.

"The rest are to be taken to the facility as planned and you are to begin the preparations for our plan, but do not start the cloning until I return." he stated firmly, and the young Wraith nodded his compliance, just as the Hive came out of hyperspace at the edge of the system.

"I'll be there soon, Serena." he said to himself as he entered the dart with the ZPMs carefully stowed next to him. Hopefully it would be enough to at least gain some trust from Sheppard.

-The Daedalus-

Everything had gone smoothly as far as Sheppard could tell. Larrin and her remaining ships had just taken off and the Daedalus along with her sister ship, Apollo, were ready to head back home.

"Colonel?! We have a Hive ship at the edge of the system. It looks to be the Commanding Hive from the attack fleet." side the helms officer. Sheppard stepped up to the front of command and said,

"Hold your fire, lets just see what's up." But, the Hive made no move to contact either of the Atlantis team's ships. Instead it just turned around and jumped back into hyperspace. Rodney tilted his head to the side in a confused manner saying,

"Well that was weird."

"Tell me about it." said Sheppard just as the helmsman checked the area where the Hive had been.

"Sir, it looks like we have a Wraith dart headed our way." Everyone was on edge at that point as a transmission started to come through. Communications passed it through and the whole command deck was faced with their old friend. There was no mistaking his star-like pattern around his left eye and that smirk held such confidence that Sheppard wasn't sure if should be pleasantly surprised or concerned. After all he did still have work on Atlantis regarding the gene therapy, but did he come back just for that, or was it something else? At this point Sheppard was willing to bet it was a bit of both, though he wasn't sure which was the for most on this Wraith's mind.

"Requesting permission to come aboard Sheppard." the Wraith said in his double tone. John still wasn't sure what he should do, but one look at Carter told him they should at least see what he wants. So a bit reluctantly he instructed the Wraith to use the 3o2 bay. The dart began its approach and Sheppard was with the team of marines that surrounded the dart as it landed. The Wraith exited the craft carrying a case of sorts and instantly the marines moved in on all sides. Sheppard stepped forward and looked the case over saying,

"Put the case down slowly." The Wraith did as he was told and moved back a few steps when the case was on the floor. Sheppard moved in and carefully opened the case. To say he was surprised was an understatement, he was flabbergasted and confused.

'How the hell did he get these? Where'd he get them, and why bring them to us?' These questions and more filled his head when the Wraith finally spoke.

"I believe your City has need of these, and I'm in need of safe passage to Atlantis to finish helping Doctor Marlo find a cure."

'Cure?' That caught Sheppard's attention, but he wouldn't bring it up just now. Rodney would have a field day with these new ZPMs and John was sure that there had to be some sort of catch as to why the Wraith had given them up. But, again he wanted to wait until he could have a proper 'heart to heart' with their friend for that.

'Friend...' he thought, 'That's just too weird. We need to give this guy a name.' Just as he and the marines finished shackling the Wraith so they could head to the brig McKay, Ronan and Carter came down the hall to the hanger.

"So our friend is back." said McKay, but he never saw the Wraith tilt his head in confusion, for the open case with three ZPMs caught his eye.

As soon as McKay had crossed the room to inspect the case to make sure he wasn't dreaming Sheppard scoffed saying,

"Yeah don't get too excited Rodney, they might not be kosher." McKay looked up in slight fear as John went on. "Lets just check 'em over first is all, ok?" Rodney nodded and quickly took the case, and headed for the on board lab near the command deck. In the mean time Carter turned and looked the Wraith over wondering what his angle was. She looked at Sheppard, he just shrugged and motioned for the marines to take the Wraith away. As they made their way down the hall Carter turned to Sheppard saying,

"Have any idea of what he wants?" Sheppard shook his head as he spoke,

"All he said was he wants a free pass to Atlantis so he can finish helping Serena find and I quote 'a cure'."

"Cure?" Carter repeated looking even more confused. Sheppard shrugged again saying,

"I'm not sure what he meant, but I do know that that's not the only reason he wants to go back to Atlantis." Sam didn't need Sheppard to articulate to know what he meant. Serena had been very civil, in fact down right kind to the Wraith, but even so what could he possibly want with her? Carter shook herself and said,

"Well I guess this means we should keep an extra close eye on him when we get back."

Sheppard nodded, but deep down he knew that Serena was going to have a fit if there was even the slightest change in security in her lab.

'Then again, she doesn't have to know we're keeping tabs on them.' he thought as he remembered the cameras in all the labs. He didn't like the idea of being dishonest with Serena, but then, he didn't want her to get killed while he wasn't looking either. In either case they had three new ZMPs and a Wraith on board and they were heading home.

'Man! What a day!' he thought as he headed to command.

-Back on Atlantis-

She couldn't control herself as Serena ran down the hall ways to command. The ships had just returned under an hour ago and she had a feeling that he was back too. As she made it to command Sheppard had just finished with his debriefing and nearly ran right into her.

"Sorry John...*pant*...is he...?" she said out of breath. Sheppard nodded and turned back to the briefing room where the Wraith stood in the doorway. Restrained yet again and with two marines on either side of him as he spoke with Doctor McKay and Colonel Carter.

Though she was upset by the restraints, Serena could hardly conceal her joy at knowing he had come back. She fingered the claw necklace he gave her as she watched him for a moment. Sheppard noted the trinket around her neck and tried to remember if she had ever worn a necklace before, but he was drawn out of his thoughts when Carter said,

"Well Doctor Marlo, looks like you have your lab partner back." Serena looked pleased beyond words as the Wraith walked up to her with McKay tagging along behind. Carter went on,

"Also he has given us a very useful gift in exchange for a chance to once again help you find a suitable gene therapy for the Wraith." Serena nodded, schooling her features, though she was sure that the Wraith could feel every emotion that was speeding through her.

After a few other announcements everyone was dismissed and Serena lead the Wraith and his entourage of guards to her lab. But once outside, she demanded the restraints be removed and no marines were allowed in her lab, as before. The Wraith smiled at her ordering these men about thinking again how she would have been a well respected Queen if she were Wraith. Serena then lead him inside her lab, and hugged him as soon as the doors were closed saying,

"God I was so worried! But I could feel everything, like a part of you was still here, or..." she didn't even know how to describe it, so she just hugged him and listened to his heart as she laid her head against his chest.

At first the Wraith just let her hug him, and then he slowly moved his arms around her waist and pulled her in tight, which only made Serena squeeze tighter herself. He had no idea what had made him want to pull her so close, but it felt right somehow. Serena never wanted to let him go, she was so screwed and she knew it.

'That's it. I've totally lost it.' she thought, 'I'm in love with a Wraith.' As soon as that thought ran through her head she pulled back and looked up into the Wraith's face in pure shock at what she had just done. The look on the Wraith's face was one of surprise and shock as well, and all Serena could say was,

"Well shit."


	8. Chapter 7

The New Girl

Chapter Seven

Things were quiet on Atlantis, almost too quiet if you were to take into account how it had been only a few days ago. Serena, however, was verging on the edge of a break down. She had admitted her feelings to the only resident Wraith on Atlantis. Though it hadn't been aloud to anyone else who may have been watching on the surveillance cameras, she may as well have screamed her heart out as the Wraith read her thoughts.

"Maybe things will stay the way they were, after all he never acted on any of his threats." though on some of them she really wishes he had. Serena nearly slapped herself for that one, saying, "No no, stop it! he's going to be here any minute, and you need to get these thoughts right out of your head." With that last round of personal counseling the doors to her lab slid open to reveal Sheppard with the Wraith in tow several feet behind him. Serena was trying her best not to meet his eyes, cause she knew if she did she wouldn't be able to help herself, her mind would just have field day.

So she kept her eyes on Sheppard as he had the marines unchain the Wraith. Apparently Sheppard had been considering different things to call the Wraith so they could tell him apart from any others they may encounter, but this seemed to be a rather stupid idea to Serena. Seeing as how this was the only Wraith on Atlantis, but John was insistent that if he was going to continue seeing the guy on a daily basis then he would have to have a name.

"Come on, I'm just asking for some ideas here." said Sheppard with pleading in his eyes. "Anything you could think of would be great, your the one who spends the most time with him anyhow." Serena narrowed her eyes at his reasoning, and said,

"You really don't like the names Rodney thought up do you?" Sheppard blanched form a moment, and the looked at her somewhat sheepishly saying,

"Anything but, Clarence...please...?" Serena shook her head and said,

"Alright what are the top ones in the running for being a possible name for him." she nodded toward the Wraith, who had at this point sat in his usual spot on the examination table and was watching their conversation with growing interest. After all he had never had the need for a name before now, seeing as how each mind was different in how they felt, worked and processed information. Wraith simply knew who everyone was just by brushing the minds of those around them, but with humans this was impossible. Though he was certain that if they could read minds they would still have called each other by a name rather then letting the intricacies of the mind define each individual.

Sheppard listed off several names that his team had thought of, which Serena instantly said no to. It was getting down to the wire for Sheppard, as he was now going through the names he had thought up.

"Then there's Gavin, Clive, or Todd. That's all I've got, please just pick one." he said in almost a panic. Serena smiled and shook her head at his insistence for her to be the one to choose the name, and there was a part of her that felt he was doing this cause he wanted to see how the Wraith would react to having her give him a name. Serena shook her head as if to clear it and thought about the last few names Sheppard had listed off.

'Well, Gavin sounds too heavy for him, and he doesn't look like a Clive to me.' Serena thought on the last name,

'Todd...Todd...hmmm...it's simple, light and straight forward.' she thought, but she just had to ask,

"How'd you come up with Todd?" Sheppard shifted slightly and then said,

"It was the same name of a guy I knew in collage." Serena arced an eyebrow at him, surprised that he would pick a name that had belonged to someone he knew. But then Sheppard turned to the Wraith and continued, saying,

"He was really pale ya know?" Serena rolled her eyes and said,

"Fine then, Todd it is." She turned to the Wraith, but kept her eyes on the floor, though she longed to look up and see if the Wraith liked his new name. Sheppard seemed relieved that a name had finally been chosen and was more then a little pleased that Serena had chosen one of his names. In any case, Sheppard left the lab in a lighter mood and Serena was left alone with the Wraith now called Todd.

Serena refused to let her emotions get the better of her and just went about her usual routine of taking blood samples and checking on the serum she had developed. Todd, watched as Serena went about her business, trying to ignore his presence as much as possible, only asking him to remove his shirt and then taking her usual samples. He let her do as she wished, trying to understand the reason behind her behavior. Then he caught her looking at him and their eyes met. It was only for a moment, but it was enough for him to see what was bothering her.

'She's ashamed, and a bit embarrassed by her feelings towards me, but why?' he wondered. He knew she was different from the other's in the fact that she treated him kindly as she would someone of her own kind, so why should she not feel something for him other then friendship?

She then asked him to hold out his arm, and he did so without complaint. He noted how she touched him almost reluctantly, and he felt the shivers that ran through her as she administered a test serum. If hadn't known better he would have thought she was frightened of him, or even disgusted, but her mind told him otherwise as their eyes met again. This time it was a few minutes before she averted her eyes again and was about to make her way back to her samples on the opposite side of the lab, when Todd snaked his arm around her waist. He held her still as she tried to move away and said,

"Look at me." Her eye's remained cast down to the floor, until he took her face gently into his other hand, his feeding hand, and forced her to face him, saying once more,

"Look at me."

Serena hesitated, but only for a moment as her eyes raised to meet his. She had always loved his eyes, though they were nothing special among the Wraith, she found them to be both frightening and fascinating. Those slitted orbs held her in place as he gently trailed his fingers along her jaw, saying,

"Why do you shy from me, why are you trying to hide what you feel?" Todd was astounded at his questions. His kind were raised to hide their true feelings, and he remembered well the price for sharing such feelings with another. But, he couldn't find it within himself to let her hide anything from him. Deep down he knew that it would put him, and more then likely Serena, both in danger; but he couldn't bring himself to care as he held her close.

'I truly have been around these humans for too long.' he thought to himself as he watched Serena try to find an answer to his questions.

'Just like Lauren, she makes me forget how to think, to block off my emotions. I can't even remember why I should push her away.' He tightened his hold on her waist, bringing her closer, knowing that he might very well die for caring. For, dare he think, loving her, but he didn't care.

'If death comes for me for this,' he brought his face closer to hers. Serena blushed as his breath brushed light and hot on her cheeks, making them darken even more. Todd leaned forward and ever so lightly brought his lips to hers as his mind came to the conclusion; if he was damned...then-

'So be it.' he thought, as he let his mind go.

Serena had never felt anything like this before, as Todd kissed her. She knew that once someone saw the security tapes there would be hell to pay, but she couldn't bring herself to break that heavenly feeling of Todd's lips on hers. His mind was lightly touching hers, not in an attempt to break in, but like a soft caress, which matched his hands upon her face. At some point they made their way into her hair as he lightly nipped her bottom lip. The tip of his tongue soothed the bite, but she knew what he wanted, and she sighed as her mouth opened in welcome to his boldness. He explored every crevice of her mouth, while her hands snaked up his body to wrap around his neck. She could feel his sharp teeth as her tongue entangled with his, and he raked them over her bottom lip as they both came up for air.

At first, Serena couldn't think of anything but remembering how to breath, as she took in gulps of air. The room was spinning slightly, but he kept her grounded and steady, his hands now back around her waist. He watched her with nothing but passion, love and a bit of lust in those reptilian eyes. After Serena had regained some of her senses, she took a step back from him; and though he didn't want to, Todd let her go. She needed to think, he understood that. Hell he needed to think, though his heart was telling him,

'To hell with thinking, kiss her again!' And he almost gave in, almost.

However, before either of them could say a word the door opened to reveal Rodney and a group of marines. Fortunately Rodney didn't even look up from his pad as he said,

"Hey, I need the Wraith for a bit. I have a slight glitch in the..."

"Todd!" Rodney looked up then with a confused expression on his face as he looked at Serena as he said,

"What?" Serena rolled her eyes at him.

'Honestly, he and John had been debating on a name for him practically all morning and he's still referring to him as 'The Wraith'.' she thought, and said very slowly,

"His name is Todd, so if you have anything you would like to do that involves Todd's expertise. Then I suggest that you ask Todd politely, if he could help you with your little problem." Todd smiled, thinking,

'Now there she is, the ever commanding Serena. She would make a fierce Queen, if she were a Wraith.'

McKay was a bit taken aback, by this and said,

"So you chose one of Sheppard's names then?" Serena just sighed and said,

"Do you need his help or not Rodney?" Rodney nodded insistently, and Serena a slight waving motion with her hand saying,

"Well then...?" McKay looked like a child that had just been scolded for not saying please when he wanted something, but to his credit he sucked it up and said, though rather quietly, with a sort of scrunched up look.

"Would you mind helping me with a slight problem I'm having with my program, Todd?" Though the name was said in a slight bit of annoyance, Serena had to give him some points for effort, and Todd seemed to be more then just a bit pleased with having been asked instead of forced into helping. He nodded to Rodney, and said,

"I would be delighted to help you, Dr. McKay." His double toned voice dripping with humor and playfulness. Serena shook her head as the marines started to strap Todd in his restraints for the trip to Rodney's lab. Before they headed out the door Todd cleared his throat, and said turning to Serena,

"Until tomorrow, Dr. Marlo."

Serena knew he had used her last name so as not to rouse any suspicion from McKay, but still she longed for him to use her name. She shook her head to clear it and smiled saying,

"See ya later, Todd." Todd left then, behind Rodney with the marines just behind him. Serena watched him go, and even stared at the door for a minute or two after it close behind them.

'What the hell, where you thinking?' she thought to herself as she went back to work, hoping that the serum she had given Todd would work. As she thought on him and the kiss they had shard she continued to ask herself,

'Are you crazy? Do you know what they would have done if Rodney had come in a minute or so sooner, or worse, if Sheppard had?' All these and more were swarming in her head, and she could just feel the beginnings of a headache coming on from all this.

'I really need to get that kiss out of my mind. It was just a game to him, he must have just wanted to see if I would respond to his advances.' but even as she thought these things, she knew they weren't true. He hadn't kissed her as a joke, or even as a test to see if she really felt for him. No, Todd had kissed her with real feeling and passion. His eyes had been intense and focused on her and her alone. They hadn't been searching for anything, his mind hadn't tried to penetrate hers. Both had slid as soft as silk along her both inside and out with great care and love.

'Love?'

She thought it through again. Yes, she had seen love in his eyes, felt it in his mind as it touched hers. Love that was just as strong, if not stronger then hers. She'd had a theory, that cause a Wraith could read the minds of his comrades and brothers, that they could feel emotions far more strongly then a human; because it was not just their emotions they felt, but the emotions of those around them as well. This, in theory, was why the Wraith were taught from a young age to hide and/or reject their emotions so as not to let slip anything that could be used against them. But, if this theory of hers held any weight, then why had he so openly displayed his feelings to her when he knew perfectly well that he could get hurt if someone other then the two of them found out?

"Dr. Marlo, could you please meet Carnal Carter in the briefing room." The voice requesting her presents was what brought her back to reality and the very real possibility that the cameras had already tattled on Todd and herself. So with a lump in her throat and the icy feeling of fear swirling in her stomach, Serena held her make-shift claw necklace in between her fingers as she made her way to the top of the tallest tower in Atlantis, and the briefing room.


	9. Chapter 8

The New Girl

Chapter Eight

Serena's mind was a whirlwind of possible reasons why she was being called up to the briefing room. Her greatest fear at that moment, was that they had already seen what had happened only minutes ago in her lab; and as she ascended the stairs in the Gate room to the briefing room, Serena hoped and preyed that Cornel Carter just wanted to know about her progress on finding a cure.

As she entered the briefing room Cornel Carter was nowhere to be found, in fact, the briefing room was empty. Serena started to wonder if this had just been a joke to get her out of the lab. John had mentioned that she spent too much time either there or in her quarters. Well if it was a joke Serena wasn't laughing, she had truly thought someone had found out her little secret.

'Well it was recorded on the surveillance cameras, so it won't stay secret for long.' she thought as she turned to head back to her lab, but as she reached the door she came face to face with Teyla. Serena nodded to the Athosian woman, saying that she was headed back to the lab, when Teyla asked the one thing Serena hoped she wouldn't have to answer.

"Why did you kiss him?"

Serena froze, and could only stare at the Athosian as she stood in the doorway. Teyla was a wise woman, and she would never back down when she put her mind to something and that included getting the answers to her questions. As things stood, Serena knew why she'd kissed Todd, and she knew she wanted to do it again, and would, if given the chance. So what could she do? Teyla would know if she was lying, so Serena simply said what she had refused to say out loud for days,

"I love him, that's why. I trust him, and I feel that he will never betray that trust." Teyla remained in the doorway almost as if she knew there was more as Serena went on saying,

"I don't know why I feel this way, or how it happened the way it did, but I do know that he never once influenced me to feel for him. If anything he thought I was crazy for being near him, and I guess since I wasn't afraid of him, that's what compelled him to get to know me."

Teyla seemed to consider her words, and then looked up and said,

"What about John, and the other's? What should I say? They will find out eventually, but what I really want to know is...should I go to them, or wait for you?" Serena stared at her in disbelief. Was she serious?

"Teyla...why would you leave it up to me? Why haven't you already gone to Cornel Carter, or to Sheppard?" Serena asked, with a bit of worry. Was there something Teyla wanted from her?

"Just tell me one thing." Teyla said with a sigh. Serena nodded for her to go on,

"If I leave this up to you, promise me you will...that you will tell them what has happened as far as your relationship with the Wraith. I will wait for one week for you to tell them yourself, and if you do not, then I shall."

Serena's mind was reeling. Why was Teyla doing this, they weren't friends, or, at the very least, close friends. Teyla held no care for the Wraith, even if Todd had helped them on several occasions, she still didn't trust him. She was, essentially placing her trust in Serena and Serena's trust in Todd. She had to ask again,

"Why let me be the one to tell them? Teyla, why are you allowing me this time to decide?" Teyla seemed thoughtful for a moment, as though she was debating whether or not she would answer, and finally said,

"I see how he looks at you. I've seen many Wraith, I've fought for my people against them all my life, but never have I seen one look at a human the way he looks at you." Serena wasn't sure she understood what Teyla meant.

"What look?" she asked, and Teyla gave a sigh, saying,

"The same look that Kanaan would give me, before he was taken." Serena remembered Teyla speaking about the father of her unborn child, and how he was very kind and attentive to her needs.

'Is that what she sees between Todd and I?' Serena's thoughts were then interrupted as the Gate activated for an in coming wormhole. Teyla looked behind her for a moment and then back at Serena and said,

"Don't make me regret my decision to let you be the one to come forward with this." Then she turned and went down the stairs to command to talk with Sheppard and the others, as Rodney tried to find out who was on the other side of the Gate. Serena stood there still in a bit of a daze, and after a few moments she shook her head and tried to think on the best way to try to do as Teyla asked.

'How do you tell someone you're in love with a Wraith?' she thought, as she made her way down the steps and through command to head back to her lab.

Just as she past by Sheppard he stopped her saying,

"You need to come with us." Her heart stopped, had Teyla changed her mind? Serena was in a panic as John lead her down to the holding cells. They stopped in front of Todd's cell, and Sheppard swiped his hand over the pad to open the door. As soon as the door was open he said,

"Ok, there's something you didn't tell us when you brought us those ZPMs. What was it?" Serena was confused, what was he talking about? She was about to ask, when Todd looked up at them and said,

"I'm assuming that one of my ships have made contact with you?" Now that got Serena's attention. He still had ships out there that were loyal to him.

'Why didn't he say anything?' she wondered, though she could probably guess. Sheppard came up to stand in front of Todd saying,

"Yeah, and they're wondering why you haven't come back yet, and that your mission is a go. What mission?" Serena looked at Todd, hoping he would deny that there was a mission, but she knew it was true. He had an alterer motive for bringing them the ZPMs and now it was coming back to bite them all in the ass, and she was feeling it more then anyone.

She tried to hold back her tears, but one slipped down her cheek as Todd looked right at her, and said,

"They had orders to take the other ZPM that was taken from the Replicator home world to a sacred place. This place is the cause of our drastic increase in numbers during the war with the Ancients, but it needs a great amount of energy to work. The ZPM is the only way to get the amount of power needed to make the facility work." It then dawned on Serena what he meant.

"A cloning facility." she said in both awe and fear. Todd seemed surprised by her fear, but nodded and went on, saying,

"My men's orders were to go to this place and prepare for cloning, but to wait until I returned to begin, if it would even be needed at all."

Sheppard huffed and said,

"If need, what does that mean?" Todd growled at his brother in arms but went on, saying,

"In the event that another faction of Wraith became to powerful and began to try and destroy all the others. After all there aren't enough humans to feed all of us, hens why I have invested my time and genes to finding a possible cure for the need to feed." He looked at Serena then, as if to say that he truly wished to find a cure for the feeding. Sheppard growled then saying,

"Alright, but that still doesn't explain why you even bothered giving us the ZPMs in the first place. You could have kept them and had an almost unlimited power supply." Todd nodded saying,

"True, but you needed them more then I." At that point Teyla stepped in and said,

"You mean, she needed them." tilting her head toward Serena. Everyone, except Todd was confused, and Rodney finally gave in and said,

"What do you mean, she needed them? We all needed them, if we wanted to have power for lights, heat, weapons, shields..."

"Exactly, Rodney. For the comfort and protection that they offer. He came back not just to find a cure, but to make sure that Serena and the cure were sufficiently protected to the best of this city's ability, and the only way that was going to happen.."

"Was if we had three fully juiced ZPMs to power the city, right." finished Rodney while Teyla nodded. Sheppard turned to Todd with his eyes narrowed, saying,

"Is this true, or are we weak minded humans just grabbing at straws here?"

Todd looked at Sheppard and then Serena, and said,

"Yes...yes Sheppard, she is important to me, and not just as a possible hope for my kind to live without having to feed." Serena couldn't believe her ears, and to some extent was a bit put out that he was the one to come clean first, but that was quickly washed away by the feeling of relief at the fact that now their feelings were coming out into the open. She stepped in front of Sheppard and wrapped her arms around Todd's waist, and to everyone but Teyla and Serena's surprise, he enveloped her in his.


	10. Chapter 9

The New Girl

Chapter Nine

Sheppard really had no idea how to respond to what he was seeing and hearing, though it would seem Ronan had no problem pulling out his weapon and pointing it at Todd's head saying with a growl,

"Let her go!" Serena glared at the Satedan warrior, and said,

"Ronan Dex, you either put the gun away, or so help me, I will shove it up your ass and pull the trigger!" Teyla coughed to cover her laugh as she motioned for Ronan to stand down. After all they were in the middle of Atlantis surrounded by marines, so she seriously doubted Todd would try anything, if he were even thinking of doing so. But, by the looks of things, with his arms still securely around Serena's waist, starting a rouse was the last thing on the Wraith's mind.

Ronan put his gun away begrudgingly, and Sheppard finally found his voice, bringing everyone back to the current issue.

"Um, people, can we get back to the fact that a bunch of Wraith commanded by none other then or ever helpful resident Wraith, Todd; are in a cloning facility somewhere out there.." He gestured to the sky as he went on, "Just waiting for the word to start up the generators for production?"

At this everyone was silent for a moment, and then Todd spoke,

"They will only begin on my word, Sheppard."

"Yeah, I got that part." said John in a huff, "What I want to know is what will you do with them in the mean time? Cause somehow, I doubt you Wraith sit down and play poker when your commanding officer tells you to wait." Todd tilted his head at Sheppard, as if to question what this 'poker' was, but Serena decided to speak up, saying,

"I'm sure we can think of something that would be acceptable to everyone involved, if we all can remain civil with each other." Todd nodded his consent to her idea, and Sheppard couldn't help but be a little creeped out at the thought of this Wraith doing whatever Serena asked him to do. Not that he thought that he would, unless it suited him.

Never the less, everyone convened in the briefing room with Colonel Carter to decide what was to be done. Many suggestions were made, but Todd refused to pull his men out from their position, saying,

"If we leave the facility unprotected, the chances of another faction of Wraith taking over is very high. We aren't the only ones who know of this place, but, at the moment, we are the only ones with the means to power it. If any other group were to learn of this and have a healthy and viable Queen, they could take the facility over and begin producing new solders within just a few days."

"Now that's a scary thought." said Serena with a shiver. Todd pulled her in a bit closer to him, which didn't go unnoticed by Sheppard, as Todd went on.

"At the moment the other factions are too busy fighting amongst themselves to notice where my troops are. Though if they were to find out they would send more then enough ships to overwhelm my faction, which consists of only one ship in the immediate area. It would take some time to alert the other ships under my command to come to their aid and even then it may not be enough." Serena piped in at that moment, saying,

"Plus, if you remember, Todd said that many of the Hives under his command are without Queens to help repopulate the Hives. Though if this facility can make thousands of soldiers it would make sense to have a strategic positioning there, and if the event occurs that another faction tries to invade, we could always destroy the facility." Todd stiffened slightly, but Serena put her hand in his saying, more to him then everyone else, "If this place can make the massive numbers of clones as you say it can, then wouldn't it be better to have it destroyed before another faction can use it?"

Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they waited for Todd's answer. He contemplated Serena's reasoning, and in honesty could find no fault with it. After all, he came back for her, and he laid his life in his enemy's hands to do it. Now was no different, he must sacrifice a little to gain a great deal. Todd finally nodded his consent to the idea, saying,

"Agreed, but should the occasion arise when I am in need of new solders quickly..." he looked directly at Sheppard as he spoke, "Will you allow a decent amount to be made in exchange for your presence, supervision, and the possible destruction of the facility should it become necessary?"

Now everyone stared at Sheppard, even Carter, and this made John a bit worried. It meant that it was his decision whether they go through with this or not, and he really hated having to make these kinds of calls. Then again, if he were to say 'no way', they'd have to come up with a whole new plan of what to do, and to be quite honest he couldn't find anything other then the cloning part disagreeable. But, he knew Todd was giving a great deal of control over to him and his team, plus they would be the ones to say what was a decent amount of clones, should Todd have need of them. So Sheppard sighed to himself and looked at Colonel Cater saying,

"When do you want us to head out to the clone factory?" Carter smiled saying,

"I want your team and one other to go the facility, but this will only be a recon mission, John. Rodney will map out the facility and find the best possible places to lay charges, while I want Doctor Zelenka to check out how the ZPM's are used to power to facility. It may become useful in the future to know how the Wraith can make Ancient technology viable with their own."

It was at that point Serena said,

"If I may, Colonel? I would like to go along as well." Carter looked at Serena for a moment and said,

"I'm sorry Doctor Marlo, but this mission is for information and defense only. Your help is still needed here in finding a treatment." Serena fumed saying,

"And going to this facility will help my research. If I can get some more samples from other Wraith, and maybe take a sample left over from the facility's previous use, then it would help my research along immensely!" Rodney scoffed saying,

"Any DNA samples from the sight would be nothing but dust by now, if the facility hasn't been used in thousands of years there's no way you'll get anything viable, let alone testable." Serena's eyes narrowed at Rodney's comment.

"Wraith DNA has a very long shelf life Rodney, trust me, and if there is even a chance of getting some samples of it, then I'm going. Besides, even if you're right I still could use the samples of any, if not all, the commanding officers Todd has stationed at the facility."

Rodney was about to make a come back, when Carter interceded and said,

"Very well, Doctor...you may go with them; but I want a marine with you at all times while you get your samples, and you are to return here as soon as you've finished, is that understood?" Serena nodded with a smile on her face as she left the briefing room to gather up what she would need for the trip. Sheppard wasn't very happy about the arrangement, but he was happy in knowing that one of his men would be watching her on this little field trip. Todd had a look of pride on his face at Serena's outburst, and seemed more then a bit pleased with the outcome. John made a note to keep an eye on him while they were out.

Two hours later found Sheppard and his team, along with Lt. Lorn's team, filling up two jumpers. John wasn't looking forward to what promised to be a long trip, and his anxiety only increased when Todd appeared at the jumper door with Serena standing next to him. They entered the jumper and Todd helped to stow Serena's equipment before sitting down next to her for the trip. Sheppard made a note to tell whoever it was he assigned to watch them to pay very close attention to any sign that Serena might be compromised. It wasn't that he didn't trust Serena, he just still wasn't so sure about her choice of boyfriend. John shivered, thinking,

'God, that sounds so wrong!' as the last of their group made it inside and closed the jumper door.

"Command this is jumper one, everyone is packed and ready to go." said Sheppard as he prepped the ship for gate travel.

"This is jumper two, command, we are ready for the jump as well." said Lt. Lorn through the com. At that moment Todd stepped up to the front of the jumper, saying,

"I have the address for the space gate that orbits the planet, Sheppard." John looked up at Todd in surprise, but nodded as Todd pressed the symbols one the front panel of the jumper. The gate sprung to life as the symbols spun around the ring and the power began to build until the gate burst in a flash of light, which then settled into a tranquil glassy surface. The jumpers soared down from the jumper bay and passed through the gate to the darkness of space on the other side. A planet could be seen not far in the distance, and the scanners indicated on it's far side was a Hive ship in a fairly tight orbit.

John relayed this to jumper two and set a corse for the Hive ship. Todd mean while had reclaimed his seat next to Serena and waited for when they would arrive on his ship. Serena leaned against him, wondering what she would find on the planet, if there was even a chance of getting an old sample of a Wraith Queen from the cloning facility. But she was brought out of her thoughts when the Hive came into view. She was floored by how big it was, and for a moment was even a bit intimidated by how many Wraith might be inside. Todd wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed at feeling her fear, and she was thankful for it as the Hive acknowledged their presence.

"We're receiving docking instructions." said Rodney as they approached the Hive. John sighed, and said,

"Well lets not disappoint them." Slowly he made his approach with Lorn's jumper right behind his. Once the jumpers were docked the marines gathered near the back, ready for a possible attack. Sheppard turned to towards the door and looked at Todd as if to say 'now what'. Todd stood with Serena following suit, and there was a knocking on the jumper door. The Wraith looked at Sheppard, but John shook his head, saying,

"Oh no ya don't, I remember what happened last time. You go first when I open the door." Serena glared at him, but John refused to budge on this. So Todd nodded to Sheppard, who then pressed the control for the door.

The back of the jumper opened to revile a commanding officer with two clones on either side of him. The officer bowed his head to Todd in respect, saying,

"Commander, we're in a stable orbit above the facility, and it seems to be in complete working order, but we won't know for sure until we do a test." Todd nodded, saying,

"Very well, but testing will have to wait. You will give Doctor McKay the layout of the facility and point out the best possible places for charges to be laid."

"Commander?" the officer seemed confused, but Todd went on.

"In the meantime, gather all commanding officers in the Queen's audience chamber. Doctor Marlo will be taking blood samples to help in her research for a cure." The officer seemed to straighten and turned to Serena with a look of reverence, and she nodded to him respectfully, saying,

"I'll also need samples from any officers currently on the planet, along with anything that can be salvaged from the facility's last use."

The officer nodded to her in respect, saying,

"After you have taken your samples from those present they will relieve those on the surface. I will also inform those returning to take samples from the DNA stores in the cloning system." Serena smiled, and said,

"Thank you, and Todd?" she turned to face him, "I'll need some work tables and a few chairs so your officers can sit while I take the samples." Todd gave a nod and lead the way first to the command deck to allow McKay access to their computers, then to the center of the ship and the audience chamber.


	11. Chapter 10

The New Girl

Chapter Ten

"It looks like even though this place needs the raw power from the Zed'P.M.s, there are generators for each level of the facility to run for basic functions, like lighting, heat, door, ect." Rodney had been studying the layout for the facility for an hour, when he found the best place to set the charges. "So if we lay the charges near these smaller generators it will trigger several secondary explosions that will whip out the entire facility." John smiled, and said,

"Nice job, Rodney." and activated his com-link, saying, "Serena, how are things on your end?"

Serena was just pulling the needle out of her second to last patient, when she heard her com. going off. She looked around for her earpiece, and finally found it under her jacket, which she had removed almost forty minutes ago. Quickly putting the earpiece in, she said,

"Sorry John, sorry! I took my earpiece out, what's up?" Sheppard rolled his eyes and pushed down the urge to chew her out for not being in contact at all times, and said,

"Are you almost done down there, cause Rodney's got what we need to hook up the bomb squad." Serena looked over at Todd, he was busy labeling and stowing blood samples in the cool carrier, and said,

"I have three or so more to go, so give me another half hour or so and I'll pack up shop." John sighed, saying,

"Alright, but hurry it up will ya, I want us to head back as soon as possible."

"Okay okay, don't get your M4 all jammed up your ass. I'll be done soon." she said, as her next patient took his overcoat off and sat down.

John huffed and turned his com. to Lorn's team.

"Lieutenant, are you almost done down there?" Lorn had been assigned to checking the Hive's feeding room. Though there wasn't anything to be done about the Wraith's need to feed at the moment; knowing how many humans they had left stowed away, would give them a time frame in which they would be working with this particular Hive. Lorn stopped his counting, making a note of where he stopped before he answered his com.

"We're almost done, Colonel, just one more panel and we're outta here."

"Kay, as soon as you're done head back to Atlantis and let them know we'll be right behind ya, and we're going to need a lot of C4 for this place." said John as Rodney downloaded the specks for the facility.

"Understood Sir, out." said Lorn, and he went back to counting.

Meanwhile, Serena finished with her last patient, and then began helping Todd label and store the last of the samples. The guard watched them as they began putting things away. It truly annoyed Serena that Sheppard had assigned them a babysitter. Then, a thought struck her, and she turned to the marine, and said,

"Would you mind helping us with all these boxes, Sheppard will have our hides if we take much longer here." The marine seemed to shiver at the thought of Sheppard getting angry. So he moved forward, picked up a stack of boxes and headed for the door. He turned around to look back at Serena and Todd, but Serena just waved him on as she continued on putting things away, saying,

"Go go go, we'll be right behind ya!" She picks up another filled box and places it on another stack, Todd does the same, finally getting things cleared. So the marine shrugged and headed out the door.

As soon as he was out of sight, Todd turns to Serena, and says,

"You have a talent for deception." Serena turned to face him with a look of mocked offense on her face, saying,

"I wasn't lying about John being pissed if we take too long, though the implication of whether I really give a shit or not may have been a bit...exaggerated." Todd's lips curled up into a amused smirk, as he finishes stacking the last of the boxes. Serena moved over to him to take a stack, at the same time he bent down to take the same stack, and their hands touched.

His skin was cool, but smooth, sending shivers up and down her spine. He sensed her pleasure at his touch, and moved even closer, sliding his feeding hand up the side of her hip while the other played with her hair. Her breath caught in her throat as his hands moved, one to her back and the other to her scalp. She let out a shaky breath when she felt his clawed fingers creep along base of her neck near her shoulders, then down to her collar bone.

'God!' she thought, 'Don't stop...don't you dare stop!' He smiled, and said,

"I have no intention of stopping." He said the last word with a low rubbling somewhere between a purr and a growl, his face now buried in her hair as both hands wrapped themselves around her waist.

Serena could feel the heat rising as he leaned in closer to her ear and scraped his sharp teeth along the shell. She reached her hands up and behind her, tangling her fingers in his wild hair. His hands were moving again, smoothing across her belly then brushing lightly over her ribs. Her grip on his hair tightened and pulled, making him growl as he brought his hands up to meet hers. Their fingers intertwined, and as he lowed their arms so they wrapped around Serena, she tilted her head back. Is eyes were practically glowing, and a deep purr rubbled in his chest as he leaned down to kiss her.

The kiss was soft almost chaste, but soon it become hot and demanding. His tongue and teeth both bit and soothed her mouth as their breathing started to become short. Violently her turned her to face him and growled right in her face as he pushed her back against one of the work tables. He knew that he was out of line, that now wasn't the time for this, but he couldn't bring himself to care as he moved in for another kiss.

She was on fire with every touch of his hands as he pressed into her. He was a good deal taller then her, but that didn't stop him from pressing them closer together and kissing her till he'd left her gasping for air. They needed to go, Sheppard would come looking soon, and Lord only knew what he would do if he found them like this.

'But it feels so good...I want more.' she thought as she felt Todd's hands smooth down her sides making her shiver and moan into their kiss.

'We have to stop...we need to stop...oh yes, right there.' her thoughts were a mangled mess as he began biting her neck, then with a great lurch they were both thrown to the floor.

He still held her when the second blast came, which caused him to pull her even closer. Someone was attacking. But who? They didn't have to wait long for their answer as a Wraith officer charged through the door way.

"Commander, an enemy Hive has just arrived to lay claim to the cloning facility! Your presence is need in command, sir!" he said in a rush as Todd helped Serena to her feet. She looked around, the sample boxes had been throne about, but it looked like nothing had been broken. So with a slight pull out of the room Serena followed Todd, quickly making their way to the command deck. There Rodney was holding onto his computer tablet for dear life, while Sheppard ordered his men to stand down and get back to command.

John looked up and fumed saying,

"What was taking so long?!" Serena huffed right back at him saying,

"Well if you had over fifty samples of DNA to take, label, and safe pack for travel, you'd take your time too!" The ship shook again, causing everyone to grab hold of the nearest sold surface, which in Serena's case was Todd. He held her tightly to him till the shaking stopped then went about trying to hail the other Hive.

"Besides you'll be glade to know that because of Todd and I meticulously packing those samples in the cool carriers, it looks like even with all this shaking I won't have to redo them." she yelled as Ronan came in with the rest of Lorn's team. The Lieutenant made his way to Sheppard and asked what happened.

"Oh nothing, we're just in the middle of a fight between factions on who gets the rights to clone!" Sheppard yelled over the alarms warning of another incoming blast. The ship shook violently as the blast hit their drive engines, they were dead in the water now, with no possible way to escape.

Serena watched Todd work in a hurried manner, giving orders, checking the different deck that were damaged in the blast. He truly cared for those under his command, even if at times he seemed harsh in his judgement. Still, Serena could see his determination to make sure that every officer was accounted for, and she knew he would have no reservations making sure each and everyone of them received her cure, once she had perfected it. These thoughts calmed her mind as she heard an officer announce they had been boarded. Todd spun around to face her and the Atlantis teams, saying,

"If they find you here, it will be death for all of us!" Serena felt the fear coil in her stomach like a snake poised to strike as he went on. "You must take your teams back to Atlantis at once Sheppard, before we drift to far from the space Gate. With only one Hive focused on my ship you will be able to slip past their notice with your ship cloaked." Serena couldn't believe what she was hearing,

"But what about you?!" she asked with a feeling of dread as to what his answer would be. He looked down at her and gently brushed some of her hair out of her face, saying,

"I must remain with my men, I may be able to save the whole Hive if I can find a way to persuade their Queen to allow us to withdraw from the facility."

Her heart seemed to crack at his words, she was proud of the fact he felt such loyalty to his men, but at the same time she wanted him to be selfish, and come back with them. However, if that had been the case, Serena wasn't sure she would be able to trust him the way she did now. Sheppard stepped forward, and said,

"Alright, say we make it back, and all goes well with your withdrawal from the planet. That still leaves us with the very real problem of this new Hive having possession of the facility and the means to power it! What then?" Todd seemed to think for a moment, and said,

"We can still implement your plan of destroying the facility, but we will have to come up with a different method of execution. However, at the moment, we do not have the time. You must go now if you wish to get your teams back safely. It will only be a matter of time before the other Hive notices there is a space Gate, which will make your return very difficult if not impossible."

John nodded and order his men to fall back to the dart bay where the jumper were docked. Serena couldn't move, she couldn't leave him. Here heart was beating so fast in her chest, she thought it would burst through her ribs. The thought of leaving torn at her, like some dark nameless thing clawing her insides to nothing but raw and painful shreds that throbbed in time with her rapid heartbeat. Time seemed to stand still as Todd came to her side, taking her face in his hands, saying,

"You must go, it is too dangerous for you to stay." She shook her head defiantly at his request. He could feel her distress and agony at the thought of leaving, but he stood firm as he went on. "If you remain, there is no way I'll be able to protect you. Even if we are allowed to withdraw, the Queen will undoubtably take all she can from us, and that includes every human in our possession...whether worshiper or prey."

Her heart clenched painfully at his words, as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. Sheppard had stayed behind to carry Serena back to the jumper kicking and screaming, if it was necessary. He watched as Todd wrapped his arms around Serena and held her close, letting his hands smooth up and down her spine, while he buried his face in her hair and inhaled. Memorizing every part of her as if he would never see her again. Sheppard didn't know why that thought pained him. He guessed it was his worry for Serena and how she would suffer if Todd didn't make it, but he didn't have time to think about it. Todd seemed to be of the same frame of mind as he lifted his face to look at Sheppard, saying,

"Take her...take her." John moved forward and took Serena's arm and began to pull her away as she lifted her head. Her grip on Todd's coat was so tight her knuckles had turned white, but Todd smoothed his fingers over them prying them from him. She looked into his eyes, and the sight before her made tears stream down her face, for it was a look of pure agony and self loathing.

In that moment Serena pulled free from John's grip and wrapped her arms around Todd's neck kissing him passionately. If Todd had cared about how he was perceived by his men up to this point, that care was completely gone now, as he wrapped his arms around Serena and kissed her in return. The ship was silent, as if there was nothing there but the two of them, but Serena knew it couldn't last and pulled away, saying, as she looked into his golden-green eyes,

"You had better come back to me." He nodded saying,

"Always." With that John pulled her free of his grasp and ran with her close behind out of command down toward the dark bay.


	12. Chapter 11

The New Girl

Chapter Eleven

Serena felt like a part of her was dying as she ran behind Sheppard to the jumpers. Tears blurred her vision as John pulled her into their jumper. He ran to the front and started her up, cloaking the jumper quickly he looked out for Lorn's jumper, but it seemed he left as soon as he and his men were loaded.

'Good.' thought Sheppard as he maneuvered the jumper out of the dart bay headed for the space Gate. However, once the jumper made it out of the Hive, it seemed that the enemy had already found the space Gate, for two darks were positioned on either side of it, poised for anything that may come at them.

"Great! Just Great!" Sheppard said, and turned to Rodney saying, "Do you have anything on Lorn's team?" McKay looked over the scanner trying to find any sign of the other jumper, but there was nothing.

"I'm not picking up anything, if they did make a run for the Gate then they made it cause I'm not picking up any kind of debris other then darts." said Rodney as he checked and rechecked the computer scan of the area. John looked at Rodney then saying,

"And if they didn't make it?" McKay was silent for a moment and then continued on with a matter of fact voice, his way of coping with his own answer,

"Then they're still cloaked and out there somewhere, cause I'm not sensing them. Though...they could also have been...captured. But it's highly unlikely, cause like I said there's no sign of any jumper debris!" John nodded knowing that the Wraith wouldn't have let the jumper go if they had spotted it, and they would have had to damage it badly before Lorn would even think of surrendering. So for the moment they were stuck, not able to use the Gate, and Sheppard wasn't going back to the Hive to risk being found.

Serena watched as the darts flew about attacking each other, she couldn't tell which dart belonged to the enemy Hive or Todd's, but all the same she flinched whenever one was destroyed. Todd's Hive took one or two more hits before the enemy Hive stopped its assault. She watched as an envoy ship made its way to Todd's Hive, but she doubted that their intention was to let Todd and his men go. Fear for him rose in her like the heat from a fever, she felt sick and weepy though she kept her tears in check, wanting to least keep face among the others, but it was hard...so hard.

John was on edge with all the darts flying around. There was no where to land the jumper other then somewhere on the planet, but even then they'd be risking exposer. He looked back at Serena, she was trying to be brave, but he wasn't fooled. He had seen how she had kissed Todd back on the Hive, how she had made him promise he would come back to her alive. Now John was beginning to see how deeply their relationship had become.

'How the hell did it get this far? He was only seeing her for a couple hours a day. What were they doing, exchanging life experiences over blood samples and tests?' that last one almost made him laugh, but the look on Serena's face made him suppress a snort of laughter. She looked like death was about to come knocking with her arms clenched around herself, as if that were the only thing holding her together.

He was about to say something, anything to get that hollow and broken look off her face, when there was a massive explosion that shook the jumper like a drink mixer. Everyone looked ahead to where two Hive ships used to be, now there was only one, Todd's Hive was nothing but large burning pieces of debris. Serena watched as each flaming piece floated in all directions, headed for destinations unknown due to the explosion. Her eyes flooded with fresh tears, as a small whimper escaped her lips. John quickly turned to Rodney, determined to find something to hold Serena together, and said,

"Rodney, is Todd's subspace transmitter still broadcasting?!"

McKay shook himself back to reality and began busying himself with the scanner, while John turned to Serena who was now standing looking dead ahead, with Ronan behind her. The Satedan warrior and Serena had many disagreements when it came to the Wraith, and Ronan was personally glad that there were now less Wraith in the galaxy. But, the look on Serena's face, her whimpers like an animal in pain, a pain that would be better silenced with death. Even Ronan couldn't find it in himself to do anything, but hope she didn't just crumble into dust.

"Rodney...?" Sheppard said impatiently as Serena began to sway on her feet. Ronan was there and Sheppard stood quickly to catch her, when Rodney finally responded, saying,

"Hang on...I'm getting a reading...yes, and it's coming from inside the enemy Hive."

Serena gasped like she had just come up for air after being submerged for too long in her own sorrow and doubt. She looked to Rodney with a wild gleam in her eyes saying,

"He's alive?!" Rodney nodded saying,

"That's the general meaning behind my telling you his transmitter is still broadcasting, but there still is the small problem of him now being on the enemy Hive."

"And finding a way to destroy the facility without getting killed in the process, or leaving the job only half done." John interjected, but Serena didn't care about that. He was alive, that's all that mattered to her. She stared out of the front window of the jumper longingly sending her heart and mind out to him, not expecting what happened next.

"Yes, I am here Serena." said a rough double toned voice in her head.

She started, enough that she backed into Ronan with such force that both of them found themselves sprawled on the floor of the jumper, receiving curious looks from the other occupants. Serena looked up at John as he leaned forward in his chair to help her up,

"You heard me." she said breathlessly, everyone in the jumper was throughly confused as Todd responded,

"Yes, I am here, and well for the moment." Serena couldn't believe it, as Ronan and John helped her up with concern written all over their faces. She looked at John and said,

"I can hear him." John's face was priceless, if Serena hadn't been so excited about her contact with Todd she would have laughed. Sheppard shook himself and said,

"What...what he's talking to you right now?" Serena nodded as Todd spoke again,

"Is that Sheppard?" She actually laughed then and said,

"You can hear John?" Sheppard sat back with a shocked look on his face as Todd responded,

"Through you, I can hear, and even see if you were closer to me. Where are you? You didn't make it back to Atlantis?" Serena physically shook her head, and before she remembers that he can't see her he says,

"I see, then you are still flying around in your cloaked jumper." Serena answered out loud this time.

"Yes." she could feel Todd's thoughts brushing hers gently as he contemplated what she had told him.

At that point Sheppard had had enough and said,

"Hold on a minute, how do you even know that's him?" Serena looked disgruntled but she answered saying,

"I know it's him."

"How?" John countered. Serena thought about it for a moment, should she tell him about the connection she felt with Todd when they had faced off with the Replicators? Serena sighed deciding to trust John not to go too over the top when she told him, and said,

"Because I've felt his mind before." Every eye in the jumper was on her now, she felt like she was under a microscope, as John leaned forward again, and said,

"What, when?" Serena took a deep breath and said,

"It was while you were attacking the Replicator home world. I was very worried that he wouldn't come back and I guess my emotions were strong enough to reach him in the middle of the battle, because I could sense him. He was calm and he was trying to calm me while he was fighting. I also felt he was very pleased about something at the time, and I didn't know what it was until he came to us with the ZPMs." Now Rodney jumped in,

"Wait you knew he was up to something and you didn't tell us?"

"No! All I knew was he was pleased about something, at the time I thought it was because the battle had gone well. Then he came back with the ZPMs, and I guess it didn't cross my mind to say anything, cause he had brought them for us to use in Atlantis." Rodney was about to make a comeback when John cut him off,

"So ever since then you two have been able to communicate with each other." Serena looked at John and thought for a moment saying,

"I had no idea we could, or if it was even possible over great distances. It was always just feelings, emotions, we never actually spoke to each other this way."

It took Sheppard a minute to get his thoughts in order, but when he did he looked at her with what Serena guessed was an 'Ah-ha' expression, and said,

"Could you ask Todd exactly where he is on the Hive, and the best possible way for us to get in undetected?" At first Serena was confused saying,

"What, I thought that would be to risky. What are you thinking, John?"

"Yes do tell the rest of us who aren't mind readers what you're thinking." said Rodney in an annoyed tone. Sheppard glared at Rodney and began to explain,

"Todd is in a position to help us, and in so doing, help himself. As it stands we can't do much where we are right now, but with Todd's help, we might be able to find a way to still destroy the facility using the enemy Hive." Now he had everyone's attention, Serena could even feel Todd's presence increase in intensity as John went on.

"We already know which places in the facility need to be hit, all we need is the fire power to do it. If Todd can guide us on where to go to get control of the Hive without having any direct contact with the Wraith on board, we could use the Hive to take out the facility, set off the self destruct, and book it out of there."

Serena had to admit it was a good plan, though it did hold a great deal of risk, but like he said they didn't have a lot of options. Sheppard looked at her expectantly and at first she didn't know why, then she heard Todd's voice again,

"It is a good plan, but you will have to work quickly. If I'm set free they will surely know, and your hope of secrecy will be void." Serena relayed this to John, and he thought about it for a moment and said,

"Then we'll have to come get you at the last minute before we begin the attack on the facility. The question is, can you guide us in patching into the weapons system?" Serena waited for a response, and after a few minutes Todd said,

"Yes, I can get you into the Hive's primary systems undetected, but you will have to be very careful and follow my instructions exactly." John nodded to Serena saying,

"No problem there, sit tight we're coming in to get ya." Serena couldn't believe it, Sheppard was actually going to save Todd, granted it was on the condition that Todd was being helpful, but still she was very happy. John laid in a course for the Hive and he had a small smile on his face as he thought,

'At least she's smiling again, cause this has got to be the craziest thing I've ever done.'


	13. Chapter 12

The New Girl

Chapter Twelve

The jumper made its approach toward the dart bay and easily slipped through without anyone noticing. Serena was very nervous and had to keep reminding herself that they were cloaked, nobody could see them. Sheppard eased the jumper along and found a fairly remote spot to set her down. The area seemed to be under some kind of construction, but was abandoned for the moment, the perfect spot to hide in plain sight. John was still on edge about not being in contact with Lorn and his team, but if this went down right they wouldn't have to worry about it. So Sheppard set them down gently and opened the back as soon as everyone was ready.

The halls leading to the bay were empty and very erie with swirls of mist curling along the floor as they went deeper inside the Hive. Todd had given Serena a very clear picture of where they needed to go, and he was still present as they walked through the halls checking each corner for anyone coming their way. Finally they made it to the very core of the Hive, where the central systems correlated and commands were processed and passed on to where they needed to go. Though the room wasn't guarded it was very open with little to no cover if someone should find them, so they had to work quickly.

Rodney hooked into the mainframe and began scanning for the weapons system control, Ronan along with a few marines and John kept watch, while Serena relayed instructions from Todd to Rodney. Soon they had the weapons controls up on the screen.

"Ok the next part is very important and delicate, Rodney." said Serena as Todd showed her exactly what needed to be done to gain control without rousing suspicion. McKay rolled his eyes saying,

"Trust me, I'm doing fine, now just tell me what I need to do next." A few more touches and reroutes and McKay was in full control of the weapons system. He smiled with pride and said,

"Alrighty, next we need the Hive's destruct sequence and controls." Serena sighed at his pleased look of success, they weren't out of the woods yet.

It was a matter of minutes before Rodney also had control over the ship's self destruct, saying,

"Well, we are now in control of this Hive who wants to blow something up?" Ronan smiled while the rest of the team just sighed. John turned to Serena saying,

"Now we get Todd, where is he?" Serena closed her eyes and concentrated, she could feel him up a few levels and down towards the front part of the ship. He was very close to the Queen's audience chamber, but if they were careful they'd be able to get to him before the Queen wanted to see him.

"This way." said Serena as she lead them down the halls to a lift to take them up. She could feel Todd, almost as if he were physically pulling her to him, and she followed that feeling all the way to the main deck level. There were more Wraith walking around here, so they needed to control their thoughts and hope they wouldn't be seen before getting to Todd.

They were only a hall away when Serena stopped dead in her tracks, she peered around the corner and saw that a guard had come for Todd. He was to be taken to the audience chamber. As she relayed this to John, they had to duck into a near by room to avoid being seen by the envoy as they made their way to the audience chamber. When they passed and were down the hall, Sheppard activated his earpiece, saying,

"Rodney, anyone come by?" There was a moment of silence on the other end which was then quickly followed by Rodney's voice saying,

"Everything's quiet down here, we're ready to start our attack when you have Todd."

"Yeah well we might be a little longer on getting our friend out of trouble, so keep in touch, and keep out of sight." said Sheppard, and Rodney quickly replied,

"We'll do, McKay out."

John nodded to Ronan and they started heading back down the hall way toward the audience chamber. Serena could feel the rising concern in Todd's mind as the Queen entered the chamber. If she delved deep enough she'd see what was happening, and they were all dead. The thought of her forcing her mind into his caused Serena to almost go into a panic as she felt the Queen move closer to him.

"Calm your mind." he whispered in her head, his thoughts stroking hers in a soothing manner, helping her mind to still as she took a deep breath. Todd was on edge, she could feel it, but he was trying to shield her from it, saying,

"This Queen is young, she will not best me." She could feel as well as hear the confidence in his voice, but still she would have felt better if they could have gotten him out of there sooner. From what Serena understood about Queens, they had become very arrogant over the centuries, but they were also very tenacious and patient. Serena didn't want to take the chance that this Queen, young as she maybe, having the patients of Jobe.

The entrance to the audience chamber had only one guard, which made Ronan scoff, saying,

"I guess they're not expecting company, there's only one guard out here." John nodded saying,

"Then we still have the edge, and Rodney's ready to go as soon as we give the word." Ronan nodded, though he didn't agree with their current mission to save Todd, he had to admit he didn't like seeing Serena so worried. Deep down he wondered if she ever worried about him or John while they were out in the field, but now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. John turned to Serena and asked,

"Is the Queen there?" She nodded saying,

"Yes, and Todd says she's young, maybe having only been a Queen for a few centuries, but still I don't think we should let her have to chance to read Todd." John nodded in understanding taking a moment to think.

"How many guards are in the room?" asked John quickly nodding to Ronan to get ready. Serena gently brushed Todd's mind asking what John wanted to know, and to her shock she was suddenly able to see the inside of the audience chamber. Everything was so clear and crisp, the colors themselves seemed to jump out, but she regained her composer and started looking around quickly. She blinked a few times after her head count, and turned to John saying,

"There are three in the room with the Queen and Todd. Two drones on either side of Todd holding him on his knees, and one other who looks like a commanding officer, it may be her over all commander." John seemed to digest this quickly and asked,

"Where are they in the room?" Serena took another quick glance through Todd's eyes and said,

"The two holding Todd down, are closest to the door and are at the dead center of the room. The queen is at the other end of the room directly across from the door on her thrown, which is raised a step or two off the floor, and her commander is right next to her on our right hand side." John looked at Ronan and the Satedan nodded that he was ready. Sheppard turned to Serena and said,

"You stay right behind me, understand?" then he took a hand gun out of his side holster and continued, "Take this, and use it only in self defense, and only when there's no possible way you can miss." Serena nodded taking the weapon and pointing it down, making sure the safety was on before turning to John with a nod, if she needed it, her thumb was right on the switch to turn the safety off.

It was a one, two, three; one, taking out the guard at the door; two, charge into the chamber with guns at the ready; and three, take down the drones holding Todd while keeping the Queen and her commander at gun point. Everything was going quite well, until the commander managed to get his stunner out and shoot Ronan, he pushed his Queen down and behind the throne while he continued to shoot. Todd took a drone rifle and began shooting back with Sheppard, while Serena knelt next to Ronan keeping out of the way. There was no doubt in their minds that the whole Hive was aware of them now. Sheppard finally shot the commander in the arm, and while Todd continued his assault with the rifle he called Rodney telling him to start firing,

"When you're done, head back to the jumper as quickly as you can, don't wait for us!" he yelled over the firing.

Everything was happening so fast that no one noticed the Queen slip out from behind the throne. Serena shook Ronan, trying to get him to wake up, he seemed to be coming round when he got a panicked look on his face. As soon as Serena turned around she was slapped across the face, and across the room. Before she could get her head together, Serena was picked up by the hair, and turned to face a very pissed off Queen. Serena saw her flex her feeding hand, and at that moment her mind went into overdrive thinking of how to get away. She then remembered the gun that was, amazingly, still clutched in her hand. The Queen lifted her hand with a sadistic smile on her face, Serena flipped the safety and place the barrel against the Queen's gut. Her majesty didn't even have time to look surprised as Serena squeezed off two to three shots. The Queen fell to the floor in shock, leaving Serena standing there in a bit of shock herself.

By this time Todd had finished off the commander, and Sheppard was still yelling into his earpiece,

"What do you mean they cut you off?! They can't override an override, can they?!" To which McKay's strained voice said,

"Yes they can and they have, I'm no longer in control of the weapons systems, everything has been shut down, and I can't get back in!" There was a momentary pause, then Todd said,

"Doctor, can you override the ship's autopilot?" John looked at Todd as if he would kiss him if he didn't hate him half the time. Serena was just as confused as Rodney when his voice came through again,

"And what good would that do, we don't want to be flying a ship while playing hide and seek!" John shook his head, and said,

"No Rodney this is perfect, think about it, if we can get the ship's autopilot locked on a location, and bar the Wraith from getting back in, instead of shooting up the facility we'l.."

"Crash into it causing a massive explosion big enough to destroy the place completely, of course! Why didn't I think of that?!" Serena rolled her eyes saying,

"Maybe you had other things on your mind." Todd scoffed slightly in mirth at her words and John laughed saying,

"Just get on it, Rodney. As soon as you've set the course and locked everyone out head back to the jumper, we'll meet ya there."

"You got it!" said McKay just as they heard someone trying to get into the audience chamber.

Serena turned to get Ronan, but was grabbed from behind. Before anyone could do anything she was flung to the floor hard, and her chest bloomed with a new kind of pain as the hand of the injured Queen slapped down on her chest. She screamed in agony as her life was being drained away, but it stopped almost as quickly as it had started when Todd threw the Queen to the other side of the room with a roar. Sheppard quickly began shooting in quick bursts until the Queen lay unmoving in a pool of dark green blood. John quickly made it over to Todd who was now holding a very old and sickly looking Serena. Rona groaned as he looked up mumbling his apology for letting his guard down, but when saw Serena a hunted looked filled his face.

Todd held her as if she would break at any moment, she was dying and he only saw one way to help her, but would Sheppard allow it. John knew they didn't have much time, and he had seen what could happen if they were to wait until they got back to Atlantis to let Todd revive her. So he nodded and started to get Ronan up and moving to give Todd room to work. Todd laid her down gently, and Serena looked up at him with so much pain in her eyes. He placed a hand against her wrinkled cheek and said,

"Soon the pain will be gone, just lie still and trust me." A tear fell down her cheek as she nodded. Todd placed his feeding hand on her chest, and taking a deep breath he forced his energy inside her. Every part of her was alive with electrical surges and tingling sensations as his life melted into her. She felt as if they were one, truly one, sharing each other's very life force. That knowledge made her heart soar, and eyes cry as the last trace of age was taken away. He pulled back slightly, but his hand remained on her chest, she could see it had taken a lot out of him, but he eased her worry with a small kiss on her lips, and a whisper in her mind,

"We are always connected, and will never truly be apart." She smiled as he pulled away, but there was no time to bask in this life renewing afterglow. They were still on an enemy Hive, with drones right outside the main door, and they were headed on a crash course for the cloning facility.


	14. Chapter 13

The New Girl 

Chapter Thirteen

Serena was still in a slight haze when they started running. The Queen had a secret exit to the right of the thrown, and now they were running for the dart bay. They came to a junction and to the left was the passage that would lead them to the dart bay, but as they began to make their way towards it a group of Wraith came up from the right passage.

"Keep going!" yelled John as he and Ronan opened fire. Todd fired a few shots pulling Serena behind him as they made it passed the junction into the left passage. They stopped to wait for the others, but Sheppard yelled over the fire, saying,

"Keep going, we'll meet ya there!" Todd nodded, and pulled Serena with him down the passage. John knew he was taking a risk, but with everything that had happened so far, he knew that Serena would be safer with Todd then anyone else at the moment.

Todd kept them going until Serena tripped over her feet. She fell to her knees gasping for breath saying,

"I can't...I can't run..anymore..." Todd looked up and down the passage saying,

"We have to keep moving."

"I can't!" Serena cried, and Todd looked her over. She wasn't hurt, but she was tired, scared and slightly panicked by their situation, and he couldn't blame her. He quickly looked up and down the passage again in his own form of panic and reached down to her. Serena shook her head saying again she couldn't run anymore, but instead of pulling her to her feet he took her in his arms, and said,

"Hold onto me, and don't let go." Serena nodded as they started running again. Todd's pace was slowed, but not by much as he made it to the dart bay.

"Which way is your ship?" he asked, and Serena looked around still gasping for air.

"It's that way, next to the construction sit on the over hang." she said, pointing toward the far end of the hanger level.

He didn't need to be told twice, and knowing the ship was cloaked made him even more eager to get them within the safety of its disguise. They were about half way to the jumper, when another group of Wraith exited a near by passage. Thinking quickly as the Wraith spotted them, Todd placed Serena behind a dart and began to shoot down the center of the group. It was mere seconds later when John and Ronan came out of the passage behind the Wraith. They began shooting as well, killing several Wraith before they ran out of ammo and had to fall back to the jumper. Sheppard activated his com and said,

"Serena, Serena, are you there?!" Serena pulled her com up to her ear and said,

"I hear ya John, but Todd and I are cut off! We can't get to you!"

"Yeah, I noticed, but you guys are right next to a dart. Todd can get you guys out of there using that." said John as he started up the jumper. Serena growled and screamed into her com,

"And how are we supposed to do that when we have a half a dozen Wraith shooting at us?!" She didn't have to wait long for an answer, as Sheppard brought the jumper about and began shooting at the Wraith still nestled in the passageway. Serena could have jumped for joy if she wasn't already being lifted into the dart with Todd close behind as John continued to fire on the Wraith.

The dart was small, so Serena had to sit in Todd's lap for him to be able to see and operate the controls. Once in position, he brought the dart to life with a mere touch of his hands and soon they were lifting off, and not a moment too soon as Rodney's voice came in over the com saying,

"Come on people! We only have three minutes until this thing hits the critical point of reentry to the atmosphere, and when that happens we won't be able to break away fast enough to avoid being caught in the blast!" At this point both ships were close to the exit and Serena smiled slightly saying,

"What's wrong Rodney, I thought you worked best under pressure?" Rodney started yelling through the com that dying in a Hive on a collision course with a planet was not his idea of a healthy pressure work environment. It was at this point that the ships made it out of the hive just as it started to hit the outer atmosphere of the planet. The other darts were swirling around in confusion as the jumper dialed the gate. As soon as the horizon was formed John put in his identification code and said,

"Atlantis this is jumper one we're coming in hot, and we have a dart right behind us that has Todd and Doctor Marlo inside. I repeat, there is a dart behind us with friends on board." It sounded strange calling Todd a friend, but what else could he call him after all this?

"Jumper one, we copy that, Lieutenant Lorn and his team have already made it back safely." said command into John's com. Sheppard grinned at the news, thinking he'd have to buy Lorn a drink sometime as the jumper made it's way through with Todd's dart right behind.

The jumper disappeared into the event horizon, Todd steered the dart right after it. Once on the other side and the dart landed securely in the jumper hanger above the gat room, Serena turned in her seat and wrapped her arms around Todd in relief. She was shaking slightly, the whole series of events of the last couple of hours finally sinking in. Nearly being captured by the enemy Hive, being fed on by a Queen, being replenished, almost loosing Todd...that last one scared her most of all. Her hands started to wonder over his body, just to make sure he was really there and unharmed. Then her hands were stopped by his iron grip, holding her hands away from him he looked down at her. Serena could see he was very tired, but there was something else that made him push her away from him.

"Get out." his words were stone cold and full of commanding force. Serena was confused. Had she done something wrong? She didn't know as he opened the hatch and practically pushed her out of the dart. Now Serena was worried, she'd never seen him act like this before, even around Sheppard.

Todd made to get out of the dart and seemed to be in pain as he climbed down from the hatch. Serena reached out to help him, but he hissed at her flicking her hand away from him as if it were something poisonous. He looked at Serena with fear and worry in his eyes, while Serena clutched her rejected hand to her chest, a look of confused hurt on her face. Todd's features softened and he was about to speak when Sheppard and his team came into view from the jumper. John noted the look Serena had on her face, the state Todd was in after this whole ordeal, and smiled saying,

"Oh come on now, lets not have a lover's quarrel over something so easily explained." Serena glared at him, thinking he was making fun of her, but before she could say anything Todd spoke, saying,

"I was about to explain, Sheppard. However, if you would care to do so, so that I might rest it would be most appreciated." John nodded and called two marines to escort Todd to his cell, though recent events had John thinking of requesting for Todd to have a room now.

Serena watched as Todd was lead down the hall way to the lower levels of the city, and then looked at Sheppard still confused and hurt saying,

"What do you mean you'll explain what's going on? He's acting like he doesn't..."

"Want you anymore? Well to an extent that's true, but not in the way you're thinking. You remember how he gave you life when the Queen stole it from you?" Serena nodded slowly not sure she knew where Sheppard was going with this as he went on,

"Well, it takes a great deal of energy to give that amount of life back without having recently fed himself. Do you see where I'm going with this?" She wasn't sure she was on the same page, but she responded by saying,

"You mean that he used up his own energy to give life to me, and now he's..."

"Very low on it himself, so low in fact...I'd bet he needs to feed real soon or he may try to eat someone here. But, from the way he was acting with you seems to indicate that he's already at a point where having anyone around could be dangerous."

It was at this point that the meaning behind what John was saying hit her. Todd wasn't angry with her, he was frustrated with himself for needing to feed, and he didn't want to take the chance that he'd loose control and feed on her by mistake. Guilt flooded her system as she followed Sheppard and the others to command to give their report on what happened. She was still feeling guilty when the debrief was over and headed to her room to rest thinking about how it must have been agony for Todd to have been in such close quarters with her during their escape. He held himself in check the whole way, and when he tried to keep her safe from himself, she acted as though he was rejecting her. She lay in bed later that night thinking on how selfish she had been earlier, how her actions could have cost her her life and maybe Todd's. If Sheppard hadn't been so understanding, she doubted he would have let Todd live if he had lost control.

'Hell, even knowing he may not have let him live.' she thought, but then again Sheppard seemed to be coming to terms with her feelings for the Wraith. He even allowed her to give him one last kiss before leaving Todd's Hive. She smiled remembering the passion in that kiss, that one moment seemed to last forever, but was over too soon. How she wished she could relive that moment over and over again. To have Todd kiss her like that again, like they would be dead tomorrow, but then she remembered where he was now, and that he may very well be dead soon if he didn't feed.

'Sigh..., what are we going to do?' she wondered to herself as she drifted off into a restless sleep, dreaming of Todd laying on the cold cell floor in the boules of Atlantis. Hungry and alone, it brought tears to her eyes as she tossed and turned all night.

The next day found Todd in worse shape then the night before. He was getting weaker with every passing hour, to the point where he had even refused to go to Rodney's lab. Though whether it was because he was tired, or that he really just didn't like the thought of eating Rodney because John would have to shoot him afterward, Serena didn't know. However, they were running out of time, Todd needed to feed and soon or he would die. They had to come up with a solution and quick, Serena was nearly beside herself as she worked in her lab, but she made little to no progress. The samples that managed to make it back to the Jumper had been knocked over and most if not all the samples stowed inside had spilled out.

Serena sighed as she continued to try and work with what she had, but she would need more samples if she wanted a solid template of genetic material to work with.

'But the only way that would happen is if I were to take samples from a whole Hive's worth of commanding officers again.' she thought to herself as she placed a new slide under her microscope. That's when it hit her. If they were able to contact or find another of of Todd's allied Hives, he'd be able to feed, and she in turn would be able to get the samples she needed to help in her research so he would never have to feed again.

"Why didn't I think of this before?!" she yelled to herself as she threw off her lab coat and ran down the hall to get to command.

Cornel Carter was in her office when Serena came running down the hall to a screeching halt in front of her desk saying in a rush,

"When have to find another one of his Hives! He'll be saved and I can get more samples so he'll never have this kind of problem again!" Cater shook her head and motioned for Serena to stop talking saying,

"Whoa whoa, hold on a second and slow down. Now what are you going on about finding another Hive?" Serena took a deep breath and sat down in a chair in front of Carter's desk and explained her idea about getting what Todd needed while also getting the necessary samples to complete her template for making a cure. Carter sat back in her chair thinking about Serena's idea, but she also knew that Serena deeply cared for Todd and he for her. It was the reason he hadn't asked to see her since he had been placed in his cell. In fact he had been quite adamant about not allowing her near him, even if she came to see him of her own accord. Though it was a bit strange to think of Todd as anything other then just another Wraith that just happened to help them with some of their more recent problems, Carter could see he truly cared for Serena. That and that alone made her call Sheppard to talk with Todd about contacting one of the other Hives under his command.


	15. Chapter 14

The New Girl

Chapter Fourteen 

Sheppard quickly made his way to command to give Carter the address for the planet Todd said his alliance would be orbiting. It had taken a bit of coxing, but not much, at least not after telling him that Serena would go to every known Wraith planet to find his alliance if he didn't help them out.

"Boy oh boy, she's got him wrapped around her little finger." he though out loud, as he walked through command.

"Who's got who wrapped around their finger?" Carter asked as she walked up behind him from the command center. John jumped slightly, having thought he'd find her in her office. He turned around and said,

"Oh, it's just our resident Wraith being twitter-painted by our lovely Geneticist. I'm really starting to believe he really does love her after all." Carter smiled at John saying,

"Oh really? And what made you come to this conclusion?" She knew John had a soft spot for the Wraith since he saved them all on their last mission and gave his life force to save Serena. Sheppard shrugged, not wanting to admit to his weak spot for the guy, so Carter let it go saying,

"So what did you find out?"

John gave her the address and a bit of a description of what the planet itself was like. Carter listened and nodded her approval of the fact that the planet was free of humans, so they wouldn't run the risk of sending a population into a panic. It was at this point that Serena walked into command saying,

"Well, did you get anything?" She was ready to go whenever they got the ok to move out. Everything she would need to take samples and properly label and store them for transport was all packed next to the door in her lab. Carter gave her a sympathetic smile and said,

"We have a gate address to an uninhabited planet where Todd says his alliance is stationed. However, I'm not sure you should be going with him while he's in his current state." Serena growled saying,

"What are you talking about? I can take care of myself, I'll be fine, he won't hurt me."

"Maybe not on purpose, but it may come to a point where he won't be able to help himself. If that happens then..." John stepped up next to Carter and finished for her saying,

"If that happens then there's no telling if you'll be able to hold him off or not. I'm not even allowing my team to go through with him until he's fed. Once he has and contacts us, then we'll all go through and get your samples."

Serena could just explode she was so angry, though she knew Todd's hunger was dangerous, she was willing to be with him no matter the consequences. In her eyes it was worth it. She clenched her fists and turned away from them saying,

"I'm going with him, whether you like it or not! You're welcome to try and stop me all you like, but I'm going with him. Just because it may be dangerous doesn't mean that I'll stay here where it's safe, while he's out there suffering on his own." Sheppard shook his head saying,

"This isn't like any other relationship, he's a Wraith and has a real possibility of killing you. He even asked me to keep you here until he's fed." That was the last straw, Serena turned to John and yelled,

"It's no different then you wanting to save Ronan or McKay! I won't be turned away just because there's a chance I could die, in my eyes it's worth the risk, the same way you would risk your live to save one of your team!" Though John wasn't the least bit surprised by her devotion and determination, he was surprised at her willingness to fight even him to be able to go with Todd.

He watched as Serena turned to Carter for any sort of argument, and when she got none she smiled, actually smiled, saying,

"So we're in agreement, good! I'll go get my things and bring them to command, so they'll be right here for when we come back after Todd's fed." Serena turned on her heel and marched out of command to have a chat with Todd about his unwillingness to let her come along. Carter was about to object, but Sheppard put a hand on his shoulder saying,

"Do you really think she'll listen to you, or even Todd, when her mind is already set? True we don't want her to get hurt let alone die, but what can we do, lock her up? If we do that she'll be even more resentful and may even try to leave at the next opportunity with Todd." Carter blanched at that saying,

"You really think she'd go that far?" John simply nodded saying,

"She might, and if I know her... she'd continue her research to finding a cure, but she'd be doing it her own way. Also it would mean that Todd would have a decided advantage over other Wraith, and who's to say that in the end that might not be exactly what would happen, even if Serena was still working with us? However, do you really want to take the chance without knowing exactly how the cure will be distributed and to who?" Carter sighed, knowing Sheppard had a point, but she still didn't like it.

"I just don't want to take the chance of her getting killed, because of her blind devotion." John shrugged, saying,

"Didn't you have the same devotion to your team when you were running missions with the SGC?" Well she couldn't argue with him there, she would have risked everything for Teal'c, Daniel, and O'Neil. So she just nodded and said,

"Have the address for the planet ready, and have a team of marines ready for a possible extraction if it becomes necessary." Sheppard nodded and headed to command.

Meanwhile down in the holding cells Serena was having a time trying to convince Todd to let her come with him to help him find his brethren so he could feed.

"I will not put you in danger, especially if the danger will from me! Besides, you know what it is to be fed upon, I would not wish you to see someone else enduring that kind of pain so that I might live!" Serena gave him a sad smile saying,

"So you're ashamed of letting me see you feed. But I know you Todd, I know you would never feed on anyone unless you had to, and right now you need energy. If I could, I'd give you back the energy you used to restore me!" Todd's head shot up at that, and as he looked into Serena's eyes he knew she meant every word she'd said. She wasn't afraid of him, not at all. The only thing she was afraid of was loosing him, and it was this realization that made him look up at her through the slats of his cell. His mind caressed hers to the point where she could have sworn she felt his hand gliding across her face in a gentle almost tickling fashion. Serena smiled at the feeling and looked at him with so much love and trust in her eyes, his heart nearly stopped as he nodded in agreement to allow her to come with him.

Up in command Carter was very nervous about the mission that was about to take place. Serena had never been off world without a team at her back, and even though Todd wanted Serena safe just like she did, there was still this small lingering doubt in her heart that he would bring her back to them unharmed. Her fears, however, would have to be pushed aside, because, like John said, Serena wouldn't budge on the subject and was ready to go before they had even gathered a back up team of marines just in case things went south. Once Serena and Todd were ready, command laid in the address for the planet Todd had given them, and the gate sprung to life bring a bright and clear event horizon in a matter of seconds.

It was at this point that Carter stepped forward and said,

"We'll be waiting to hear from you in a few hours, after the deadline I'll be sending in the troops to find you." Serena nodded in understanding, she knew Carter didn't approve, but she didn't care. Serena trusted Todd with her life, and she wasn't about to let him loose his to something as simple as hunger. As soon as a deadline of four hours was set, Serena looked up at Todd as he was released from his restraints and held out her hand. With only a second's hesitation he took it in his feeding hand and they walked through the gate together. As the gate shut down Cater felt a shiver foreboding go up her spine. She turned to Sheppard and he nodded to her saying,

"I know how ya feel, but we just have to trust that she'll be smart, and he'll be strong." Carter closed her eyes and sighed saying,

"I just hope we did the right thing here, John."

...(The Wraith Planet)...

As soon as they walked through to the other side of the horizon, Serena was in awe at the beauty around her. The place was every shade of green you could imagine, with trees bushes, grass, and flowers all over the place. There was a lake near by, which was fed by a waterfall, which Todd lead her under to show her the different types of fish that gathered under the spray. They walked on for a good two hours, with Todd up ahead and Serena trailing not far behind. It was when the stopped for a break at the three hour mark when Serena began to get worried. Todd was looking worse for wear and they still hadn't come into contact with anyone. Oh Serena was sure there were Hive's orbiting above them, but how would they get in contact if there was no one around on the surface? Todd seemed to sense her distress and grinned in his slightly wicked manner saying,

"Starting to regret coming along?"

She looked at him and snorted at his attempt at humor and said,

"The only thing I'll end up regretting on this trip is if I end up having to leave without you."

"You seem to think that if it came down to my being unable to feed that you would have the ability to leave at all." he said in a more serious tone, to which she responded,

"I know you, and I know you would never hurt me, even if it meant starving, but it won't come to that."

"It won't?"

"No it won't!" She pulled her arms around her knees, tucking them under her chin as she went on,

"Cause I would let you feed on me before that happened." His head shot up, his eyes full of shock and wonder at her feelings and determination. She was serious, she would let him feed on her before she'd let him starve. After a moment of pure disbelief and pride in her, Todd shook his head saying,

"I will be able to feed soon enough. We're nearly to the camp that my forces have set up on this world. In less then an hour my needs will be met, and we can begin gathering samples once we've contacted Sheppard." Serena smiled and nodded as they got up and started off again with Todd leading and Serena following. It was a quarter of an hour later they came to a clearing where Todd said his men had set up camp, but once they cleared the trees, the sight that greeted them was a horrible one.


	16. Chapter 15

The New Girl

Chapter Fifteen

Serena was shocked and appalled at what she was seeing. Not only was the camp devoid of life, but there were corpses laying all about of Wraith who had been loyal to Todd and his cause. It didn't take any real diagnostic skills to see that the remains looked as though they had been fed upon. Probably knocked out, or injured to the point where they couldn't defend themselves, then fed on by a fellow Wraith. Though she hated to think it, there was no mistaking what was in front of her, Wraith could in fact feed on their own kind, and some it seemed did it to those who didn't conform to their way of thinking. It took very little time to go through the whole camp, and sadly they found there had been no survivors; but even if there had been, they would have moved on, or left in one of the Hives that were supposed to be orbiting the planet. Which brought up so many questions. Were the Hives even still out there? Did another alliance invade the area? Was there anyone left who was loyal to Todd, and if so, where had they gone?

These questions swirled in Serena's head as she looked at the devastation around her. The group must have been attacked during the night, for there were guards posted on the outer perimeter, but the enemy seemed to have either gotten the drop on them, or somehow slipped past. She betting on the former, after all the Wraith could read each other's thoughts almost like an open book, though she knew from Todd it was possible the shield your mind from their probing. Still, she couldn't help but think that they would have had some ink-link that something was wrong. Then another and even more frightening question entered her mind, and as she turned to Todd to ask he cut her off, saying,

"There was treachery here." She looked at him in wonder, as if he had read her mind again without her knowing, but then she noted something was gripped in his right hand. It looked to be a piece of leather, like what Todd's jacket was made of, but there was something embroidered on it, a symbol. Serena held out her hand and he gave the scrap over without hesitation, seemingly disgusted with having touched it. She turned the cloth over and stared at the symbol and said,

"Which faction does this belong to?"

Todd seemed to stiffen even further at her inquiry, but never the less answered,

"They're one of the larger factions of Wraith left in the Galaxy, their numbers being several thousands, all ruled over by a single Queen. But why they came here, even at the prompting of a traitor, is a mystery. This planet is devoid of humans, and my faction is quiet small in comparison, hardly a threat to them." Serena looked at Todd, his face a mask of anger, frustration, confusion and even a bit of sorrow for those he had lost in this seemingly pointless attack. Her heart went out to him and his men who now lay dead. His features seemed to soften a bit at the feeling of her in his mind, her sympathetic nature towards his kind never ceased to amaze him. Then Serena's watch started beeping at her, and she stared down at the time in a panic. It had been four hours, and soon John and his team would be coming after her to take her back to Atlantis.

Just as her thoughts on being taken back began to sink in she heard a deep humming sound from far off. Looking around she couldn't tell where it was coming from, but it was getting louder. Just when the sound was right on top of them, Todd grabbed her by the arm and through her down under a slightly fallen tree, covering the rest of her with his body. Her eyes stared up at the sky just as a dart flew by overhead. She looked to Todd saying,

"One of yours?" He shook his head, saying,

"The pilot's mind is unknown to me." He turned his head to the side in thought and said,

"They have the gate locked out, and patrols are heading this way. No help will be coming for a while, and we must move on." Serena nodded as he moved off of her and helped her to her feet. She looked around the camp again,

"Are you sure there's no way to get any help out here?" she asked in helpless tone. He could sense her fear for them should they be captured, but that wasn't the sum of their problems. Todd could feel his strength ebbing away, and his need to feed was growing by the minute, making him far more dangerous to Serena then their perusers, at the moment.

"We should find you a place to hide, until the Gate can be accessed by Atlantis, and you can contact Sheppard to come get you." he said with a sense of finality, but Serena wasn't having it.

"And what about you?" She said with a glare. He opened his mouth to speak but cut him off, saying,

"You still need to feed, and until you do you're no match for the patrols of enemy Wraith coming through here. You need me." He shook his head saying,

"I need you safe, and at the moment being with me is far to dangerous. But perhaps we could continue this conversation while we move on. The patrol will be here soon, and we need a place to hide for the night." Serena looked up to the sky; it was overcast, but it was getting darker and the wind was getting colder, tell-tail signs that night was approaching. So with a huff at not getting to have the last word, she fell in step with Todd as he made his way further into the forest, saying as she caught up to him,

"Fine, but this conversation is not over. I'm not going anywhere without you, you'll have to knock me out and tie me up in a sack before you can get rid of me." Todd couldn't help but smile at the image, though he would never even think of doing such a thing.

They walked on until the night enveloped them in darkness. Serena stumbled and tripped over fallen branches and rocks, scraping her knees and hands. The cold was thick and wet, the kind of cold that latches onto you and sinks into your body making every joint feel like you have arthritis. Soon Serena's teeth were chattering, but she kept pace with Todd and did her best not to slow him down. He wanted as much distance between them and the enemy as possible, and she couldn't blame him even if it was mostly for her sake. Then she stumbled over a log, sending her rushing toward the ground, and she would have hit the dirt hard if Todd hadn't caught her. He took in her shivering state, and without hesitation lifted her up in his arms, saying,

"There should be some caves, not much farther from here. They go deep and far back enough to shield us from the wind and the coming rain." Serena nodded her head saying,

"Nice, though I suppose a fire would be out of the question." Todd chuckled, some humor returning to his features, as he continued onward with some effort.

"We won't have need of one. Deep inside the caves are some caverns that hold natural hot springs. You will be able to bath your scrapes and warm yourself for the night." Serena shivered and Todd knew that it was with pure joy and anticipation at the thought of a hot bath and a warm place to sleep.

It wasn't long before they came to a shear face of rock cutting into the tree line, and Serena found herself very grateful that Todd had been the only one walking, for she would have walked right into it. There was no way to see it in the dark, at least with her eyes, but Todd glided along the side of the cliff looking for an entrance as if the dark were as clear as day. A few moments later he set her on her feet and took her hand to lead her inside a low opening. She had to duck slightly, but after the first few feet she straightened and followed Todd through the passages and tunnels. There were so many twists and turns that eventually she gave up on trying to memorize the way they came. She was still cold, but with the wind no longer beating against her it was tolerable.

After what felt like hours, there was a small light at the end of the tunnel. Todd lead on until they stood in a huge open chamber filled with glowing crystals of every shape and color. The room was very warm, and the lights reflected off of several clear pools, which bubbled slightly with heat. Serena's breath caught in her throat at the beauty of this place, and her skin prickled as the moist warmth seeped in through her damp clothes. She stepped ahead of Todd and just stared for a moment, wanting to commit this place to memory.

'Oh if I ever get back to Atlantis, I'm so bringing Teyla here for a spa day.' she thought to herself, but that was only if they got out of this mess, and if the enemy Wraith left. Again her mind turned to the fact that this planet had no human herds to cull, and no resources that would be of any real value to the Wraith. But then, knowledge could sometimes be far more valuable then food. If that is what they sought, then they had been waiting for them to come back. They wiped out that camp as a cruel and arrogant demonstration of their strength.

'Well,' she thought as she began to take off her overcoat.

'Strength isn't everything when it comes to a fight.' She looked back at Todd who was also removing his own jacket and undershirt, which was more like a silken vest. She smiled as her eyes followed the tribal-like tattoos that adorned his chest and shoulders, the line of spines that protruded from the nape of his neck and faded softly into the lower half of his back. She shook her head telling herself now was not the time. She finished undressing and sunk quickly into a near by pool.

The water was heavenly, the heat surrounded her and seemed to encase her very bones with a gentle warmth that made her moan with pleasure. Not far off Todd soaked in his own pool, watching Serena closely. Even if they were fairly safe for now, he had no way of knowing how much the betrayer had told his enemies. As soon as the dawn came they would need to be far away from here, but he let his mind ease slightly as warmth crept back into his body. For now they were safe, Serena was happy, and that's all that mattered. Todd leaned his head back to rest on the edge of the pool, and he closed his eyes just for a minute or two.

All too soon he was being shaken awake, a slosh of water told him he was still in the hot spring pool. He looked up to see a smiling Serena looking down at him, her hand on his shoulder shaking him slightly as she said,

"Come on big guy, we didn't come all this way, escaping from Wraith patrols and braving the freezing storms of this place just so you could drown in a hot spring." He arced an eyebrow at her as if the say, he had no idea what she meant. The pool wasn't that deep, but he supposed if he had slipped...but he let that thought go and pulled himself out of the spring. Serena turned away quickly, and this confused him at first, but then looking down at himself he smiled at her shyness. She was usually quite casual around his body, at least when he was only half naked, but now he stood in nothing except his own skin, and she was blushing. It made him very happy that he could make her blush, it made her even more beautiful in his mind. The desire for her seemed to build almost exponentially, but he quickly squelched it, and reached for his pants. He couldn't act on his thoughts, as tempting as it was, he just couldn't. It would be to risky in his current state, and he couldn't bare being responsible for hurting her, or more then likely killing her in a blind moment of passion. So he stilled his thoughts and attempted to put the flame of desire out.

His efforts, however, were thwarted, when Serena put her arms around his bare waist. Her skin seemed to burn him in the most delightful way as she held him close. In that moment he would do anything she asked of him, whether it doomed both of them or not. But Serena felt the tension in his mind, she knew his fear of hurting her, so she turned him around to face her. His eyes were slightly glazed with passion, but he was still somewhat in control. Serena took his face in her hands, and pulled him close until he was only a hair's breath away from her lips. His mind was reeling, she had to stop or he would loose all form of control. She breathed against him, sending a shiver up his spine, and said two words,

"Hold me." Just two simple words, but in a way those words saved him, as he pulled back from their almost kiss, and took her into his arms. He would hold her through the night as they slept, and nothing would touch her. Not the cold, his enemies, or nightmares would creep through his protective embrace. He pulled his long jacket over the both of them as they lay on the cool soil near the back of the spring's cave, and slowly let the gentle light of the crystals and the sound of running water carry them into dreams.


	17. Chapter 16

The New Girl

Chapter Sixteen

Serena let wakefulness slowly work its way into her mind, but she refused to open her eyes. She felt warm and safe. The sent of water and clean soil mixed with the musky essence of a male's presence, filled her nose. The arms around her waist tightened as she turned over to bury her face into a strong chest, hoping to get more of that sent. Serena smiled into the rippling muscles, as she felt Todd's mind gently caress hers, coaxing her to open her eyes, but she groaned in mock grumpiness and buried her face even deeper into his chest. Todd chuckled, a sound that tickled her ears and moved through her as she continued to fight him and his insistence that she wake up. But, Todd won when he reminded her that they were more then likely being tracked and needed to keep moving.

"Damn it!" she said as she sat up,

"Why does it have to be us always running for our lives." Todd shrugged as he stood and slipped his undershirt back on, followed by his jacket. Serena huffed as she put on her own and ruffled her hair so it was at least somewhat orderly, saying,

"Just once! It would be so nice to have the enemy running away from us for a change!" Again Todd chuckled and said,

"If they were to run from a confrontation they would have a very angry Queen to contend with, if and when they returned to their Hive." Serena raised an eyebrow at him as he lead them out of the cave, saying,

"Are Queens seriously that scary?" Todd looked at her surprised saying,

"You were fed on by a Queen, were you not afraid?"

"Well sure, but she was feeding on me..." Then Serena stopped walking and looked at Todd in disbelief, as she said,

"Are you saying she would feed on her own men if they returned after retreating from a failed mission?!" It was Todd's turn to roll his eyes at her saying,

"Wraith view failure as having nothing to do with the mission itself, but rather those who attempt to carry it out. Queen's are especially well known for their intolerance when it comes to failing to accomplish their goals." They walked in relative silence for a while, as they got to the entrance to the cave. It was still dark, and Todd looked for an sign that someone might have come their way during the night. When he was satisfied the coast was clear they moved on, and continued on their hike. To where, Serena had no clue, but so long as it was far away from any faction of Wraith that wanted to kill her or Todd, she had no complaints.

It had been a couple hours since they started walking and the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. Serena guessed they had at least a couple miles between themselves and the caves, but they had to keep moving. Though it seemed Todd would never tire Serena could see he was struggling to keep moving. He was getting weaker, and he was working so hard to stay with her and keep her safe, even if that meant suffering from hunger and exhaustion to do it. It was painful for her to watch as the hours went by, her own hunger and weariness forgotten every time she looked at him. Finally it was midday, and they had decided to stop next to a small stream to get a drink and take a rest before going on.

Serena looked around for any form of berries that might be eatable while Todd sat next to the stream with his eyes closed. At first she thought he was meditating, but by the hardened look of concentration etched in his face, Serena knew that he was monitoring the enemy. She could feel his mind stretching out, all the while being very careful and guarded as it lightly brushed the other Wraith's minds. After a while it looked as though he was piecing things together from bits of memory snatched from the less guarded or inexperienced minds of the enemy; and Serena was curious what kind of picture the puzzle of information would reveal. In an instant Todd's eyes shot open and he looked around him in a panic, as if he didn't know where he was at first, but as soon as his eyes locked with Serena's she knew they were in danger.

"They're coming!" he said just as an energy blast whizzed through the trees hitting the rock Serena had been sitting on before Todd threw her down to the dirt. He growled as a few clones came out of the trees and surrounded them, their riffles at the ready. A commanding Wraith officer then came out of the tree line, his head held high with the same symbol Todd had scoffed at proudly tattooed along his right cheek. This Wraith seemed to look the two of them over with disinterest, but Serena could feel him poking at her mind. She never liked being at the end of someone's scrutiny, and huffed saying,

"Maybe you should take a picture, it'll last longer." Todd shook his head, though whether it was in disapproval or humor at her words she couldn't tell. The officer, however, arched a brow at her, curious as to why he couldn't seem to break through to her mind.

"You have a strong barrier for a human. I have only ever had such difficulty when trying to read one of my fellow Wraith." It was at that point that Serena knew Todd was protecting her, his mind was shielding hers, and though she was grateful she would have rathered him save his strength.

She looked at Todd, but he shook his head, indicating to remain silent. The officer came to stand in front of Todd and looked him over as if inspecting a piece livestock.

'I guess what he said about Wraith treating failure as a problem with the officer rather then the mission was true.' she thought as the Wraith officer seemed to pick Todd apart with his eyes. Todd remained silent and stood with his head held high. He may have been physically weak, but he certainly didn't show it with the way he looked down on the officer. The officer was shorter then Todd by a little more then half a foot, meaning Serena came up to about his chin. Though it seemed in this case size didn't matter, for when it came to one's mind, the smallest could often be the strongest. Serena shook herself refusing to think that way, as the officer finished his inspection of them both and looked at the clones saying,

"Bring them along, our Queen will be most pleased if he is the one, and she'll have a snack as well." He looked at Serena with a wicked smile on his face, making Serena shiver in disgust, which only served to make the officer smile even wider as the clones forced them down stream back toward the dead camp.

The hike back was torture, even when it got dark their captors showed no sign of stopping. Serena was once again cold and shivering as she tripped over practically every dead branch and rock in her path. On occasion Todd reached out to steady her, making it seem as though she were more of a burden then a companion, if they had been in any other situation Serena would have been insulted, but here...now... she knew he was protecting her. By seeming uninterested and annoyed at her bumbling and shivering, he was safe guarding their feelings for each other from being discovered. There in, keeping the possibility of their captors using them against each other to a minimum. Still, Serena would have given anything to be wrapped in Todd's arms instead of trudging through the woods with only an army issue blazer for warmth and tennis-shoes for hiking.

Finally, it seemed that her blundering had caused them to slow down too much for the officer's liking, and he ordered a clone to carry her. Of course when he said carry, it meant slinging her over the clone's shoulder and trudging along as if she weren't there, making her feel every step he made. By the time the sun began to slip over the horizon, Serena was sure her intestines were severely bruised along with her pelvis. Her arms were numb from hanging over the back of her clone carrier, along with her legs at his front.

'As soon as he sets me down...' she thought,

'I'm going to fall on my ass, and then lie back onto the ground in a dead sleep.' She was so tired that Serena wasn't sure how, she had managed to stay awake, even with the constant pain of being carried on a clone's shoulder. On occasion she caught a glimpse of Todd trekking behind her, and though he kept his gaze ahead of him he was carful never to look directly at her, which made her sad, even with the understanding of why. She wanted to see his eyes, know that he was ok, and that they would be ok, but he maintained his banishing her from his gaze as they walked on.

It was midday by the time they reached the 'dead camp', as Serena had decided to call it. The bodies of Todd's men still scattered about as if they were on more then litter. That they didn't have the respect to bury or even burn the bodies of Todd's men, gave Serena a new and very heartbreaking perspective of her captors. They had no mercy, or compassion, even for their own kind. Tears welled in Serena's eyes as the gravity of this situation truly set in, and her mind raced with all the possible things that could happen to Todd and herself. She was nearly to the point of breaking, when she heard Todd in her mind,

"Don't let fear overcome you. That's just what they want. The cruelty of the Wraith both degrades others and plants seeds of fear based on the degradation. Don't let it consume you. I'm here." She could have wept at his words, bringing her such comfort and purpose. Serena steeled herself and responded with,

"Alright, but if we ever come back to this place, we're giving these men a proper burial." She could feel the calm and solum agreement in her head though Todd made no outward indication of his thoughts, making Serena envious of his stoic appearance. Though she found herself hating it, as it made it so hard to know what he was thinking when he wasn't sharing his thoughts.

She was snapped out of her musings as the officer came to stand in front of Todd. Serena almost found it funny that this officer was trying to intimidate Todd, when he was almost a foot shorter then him. But, Serena guessed that the officer was used to it, as all the clones were about Todd's hight. Now that did make her stifle a snicker, as the officer began his line of questioning,

"I'm sure you realize that if you refuse to answer my questions you will be subjected to my Queen's scrutiny, and she is very determined when it comes to getting what she wants. No matter how long it takes." He paced to one side of Todd and then the other, his eyes never leaving him as continued,

"She will break you, if you refuse to answer me. Now..." He stopped in front of him again, leaning in so close to Todd's face, it made Serena squirm, as he went on,

"Tell me about this supposed cure for our feeding on humans. Who's helping you to perfect it? Where is the research being conducted? And most importantly, is it permanent?"

These questions surprised Serena. If Todd had a traitor amidst his officers, then surely he knew the answers.

'Unless...' she thought about it for a moment. Todd was very careful to keep things on a very need to know basis. He was also incredibly vigilant when it came to keeping what he wanted unknown, unknown.

Could it be that his crew knew what they were working on, but not with who, or even where the research was being conducted? Maybe they were only allowed this kind of information if they were like the Hive that was destroyed a couple days ago. Only told where and who the cure was coming from when they themselves became directly involved. It was a possibility, and quite an ingenious way of going about it if you wanted to keep the location and those working on the cure safe. It was at that point that Serena knew just how far Todd had gone to ensure that she and all of Atlantis were safe from betrayal on his end, even though it would end up costing him, and it had. A whole camp of men killed for answers they didn't have. Again Serena wanted to cry, but kept the tears in check. If they got out of this mess, there would be plenty of time to weep for the dead.

As soon as that thought passed she heard the deep humming of darts, she closed her eyes and said a little prayer, hoping that they would find a way to get out of this. But, when she opened her eyes the Wraith around her were in a defensive and slightly panicked state as the darts drew near. She looked at Todd and noted the slight smile on his face.

'You sly dog, did you send out a mental S.O.S?' she asked, but instead of answering her Todd let his lips curl even further, as the humming of the darts became almost deafening. Just as they were about to pass over them, Todd looked her in the eye, saying in her mind,

"Be prepared." Serena nodded in understanding, and as the officer and his clones focused on the passing darts Todd broke out of the lightened holds of the clones on either side of him. Grabbing a side arm as he did so and stepping behind the clone to his left to block any incoming fire from the others, he then shot at the clone holding Serena and then at the two clones next to the officer.

Serena was instantly dropped as the clone hit the ground, every part of her was in pain, but she still tried to get up. Todd shot at the officer, who had drawn his own weapon and was shooting at Todd, who had now taken cover behind a nearby tree. He watched as Serena tried in vain to stand on her own and run for it, but she kept stumbling. Todd cursed as the officer started to make his way towards her. If they couldn't get out into the open the darts wouldn't be able to pick them up. Finally, Serena got her feet under her and stood, but her small victory was short lived as she was grabbed from behind. She was viciously turned around to face her attacker, the officer's feeding hand coming in for the kill. Serena closed her eyes waiting for the pain, but instead she felt a wave shock and then a creeping numbness as darkness began to seep into her vision as she looked past the officer to Todd. Serena knew then he had fired the shot that stopped the officer, but because she was in such close proximity some of the shock passed into her as well.

She smiled as her last conscious thought passed to Todd as he was lifting her from the ground,

"You...are...a sly son of a bitch." Todd smiled at her thoughts and held her close as he started running. He still needed to feed, but now was not the time. If there were more troops from the enemy on the ground they would be heading back to the camp to find out why they had lost contact with their comrades. Todd ran through the woods with his precious cargo held tightly to his chest. They finally broke through the tree line and onto the plains as the darts drew closer, Todd keeping up his pace. On the horizon he could see more enemy troops heading right for them, and just as it seemed they would be in firing rang the lights from the darts enveloped him and Serena.


	18. Chapter 17

The New Girl

Chapter Seventeen

The first thing Serena noticed as she woke were the aches and pains from being stunned throbbing from every muscle in her body, even breathing was slightly painful. So staying as still as she possibly could until the pain passed, she opened her eyes to look around. The room was fairly dark, but she could just make out the vaned walls of an organic Wraith structure. Serena could only guess that she was on a Hive ship, and judging by the feeling of the soft materials beneath her. She was betting that it was one of Todd's Hives she was on, in a comfortable bed, nice and warm as she recovered from the muscle cramping. As the normal feelings started to seep back into her limbs, Serena sat up slowly to get a better look at the room she was in. From where she sat on the edge of the bed she could tell this was a room meant for someone very important, though whether it was the Queen's quarters or note she wasn't sure. After all she'd only been on a hive once, and that was strictly for collecting samples.

That's when the whole reality of the situation finally hit her as she remembered being sent on her mission with Todd, on strict rules that she was to report back within four hours, or they'd send a team through the gate to come get her. Serena could only hope that the enemy Wraith had either been defeated or left while she was asleep. Which brought about another question,

"How long have I been asleep?" she wondered out loud, but she hadn't expected someone to answer.

"A few hours at most." Serena turned around to see Todd walking in through the main door way, which she guessed lead out into a type of sitting room. She stared up at him with both pure joy and worry on her face, as she reached out to touch his face saying,

"Are you alright?" He smiled and let the warmth of her hand seep into his skin as he said,

"I am well, I was able to feed and now so must you." He held up a tray that she hadn't noticed he'd been carrying when he entered the room. The try was filled with plates of several delicious looking goodies. Everything from meats, to bread, cheese, some kind of rice and fruit.

Serena had no idea she was hungry until she looked the tray over and selected several items for herself. Then looking at Todd, who was simply sitting and watching her, she said,

"Well you don't expect me to eat all of this by myself do you?" At first he tiled his head in confusion, but then smiled and took one of the apple sized fruits in his hand and without hesitation bit into the juicy fruit. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company, but as they slowed down a bit to just picking at the leftovers. Serena looked at Todd and said,

"Were you able to contact Atlantis?" There was a look on Todd's face that almost seemed like he was sad that she'd asked about Atlantis, but it was soon replaced by smooth indifference as he said,

"We were unable to reach the gate before the enemy destroyed it, however, we have another planet similar to this one just a few days journey from here traveling at our current speed." He stopped for a moment as if he was reluctant to tell her the rest, but pushed on anyway.

"There's a gate on that world that is in full working order. We can contact Atlantis from there, if that is what you wish to do."

Serena took in his words and behavior thus far, and smiled as she realized that he was afraid, afraid she might want to leave and go back to Atlantis. She couldn't help it and crawled across the bed until she was perched in his lap and said,

"It will take more then a little detour and a few pissy Wraith to get rid of me mister." Todd's eyes widened as Serena ground her hips into his playfully, saying,

"Besides, this is such a comfy bed." she patted the large bed under her for emphasis, which urned her a small chuckle from Todd. He held her close to him, as if he were certain she'd disappear from his sight if he let go. She laid her head on his shoulder, remembering the first time she ever met him doing the same thing, only now it wasn't harmless flirting. No, now she felt a small flame ignite under her skin, making everywhere he touched her scorching hot.

Todd noted the change in Serena's breathing first, then a sweet and tantalizing scent fill the air as he continued touching her all over. It wasn't long before Serena was getting frustrated with her clothes and began removing them one at a time. He mirrored her actions removing his coat, then kicking off his boots and his sox. As this little game of you do I do progressed Serena began kissing Todd's neck near the trail of spines that adorned his back. He shivered and in retaliation slid his hand lightly up Serena's spine making her breath hitch. They kept this up until they both lay naked on the bed, their hands tracing the paths of each others tattoos, muscles and curves until they were both were panting and desperate for more.

Deciding she had had enough of teasing Serena straddled Todd's waist, she kissed him and then letting herself slowly descend down past his chest, stomach and to her prize. She wasn't the least bit surprised that he was large, the one thing she hadn't expected was what looked to be small ridges along the sides of his erection. As she ran her hand up and down along them they seemed to move with her fingers causing her to let out a nervous giggle. Todd was worried she might stop, but Serena was curious and in a bold move took the head of him into her mouth. Slowly she bobbed up and down getting a feel for his size and those ridges as she began to lick and suck as much of him as she could. Todd's hands knotted themselves in her short black hair making her moan slightly as she kept up her pace.

It wasn't long before she could feel him twitching, and though she had no idea if it was a good idea or not she sucked hard taking as much of him in as she could. A low growl erupted above her and a thick hot stream coated the back of her throat. She swallowed quickly, but he came so much that some leaked down her chin to the sheets. The sheets were forgotten, however, when Todd pulled her up to him and kissed her deeply and passionately, until she was left breathless. He flipped them over and pinned her arms above her head as he let his hands rom unhurried down her body until his fingers slipped past her folds, causing Serena to gasp as he lazily stroked her clit. Soon she was wiggling lick a worm on a hot sidewalk as he kept teasing her clitoris with one hand, while the other moved from holding her arms to kneading her breasts.

Serena whimper as her sweet torture continued until she couldn't stand it any longer, walls tightening as she wrapped her arms around his back letting wave after wave of pleasure flow through her. Todd kissed his way down her body cleaning her with his tongue, which only served to excite her again. She noticed his stiffened member against her inner thigh and she whimpered saying,

"No more teasing." He smiled down at her and with a kiss to her forehead and then her lips he said,

"No more teasing."

He thrust forward tearing a strangled gasp from Serena. By no means was she a virgin, but he was big, then adding those ridges, it made for a slightly rough entry. Todd stilled for a moment, letting Serena adjust to him, but it was so very hard not to just take her roughly. It had been quite a while for him, and it seemed now it had been too long. When she started to move against him he began to move forward again until he was completely sheathed inside. Again he waited for her to adjust, but it didn't take long, within minutes she was wiggling and whimpering, begging him to move.

If anyone had walked by the Queen's quarters at that moment they would have heard Serena scream, as Todd pulled almost all the way out and quickly, but gently, thrust back again. The ridges along Todd's shaft were causing sensations Serena had never thought possible as he continued his controlled thrusts. It was incredible, magnificent, unimaginable as Todd's thrust got faster and harder along the way. Serena was sure she would cum soon he was causing so much pleasure, but on feeling her starting to tighten Todd slowed his pace down bringing her back down from the edge. He continued doing this every time, to the point where Serena was nearly beside herself with pleasure yet no release.

As he started his pace back up again Serena decided she'd had enough, she wanted more then just his calculating and mischievous manner. Oh no...she wanted him wild, unbridled, unbound, completely out of control. She grinned to herself as she reached around his back and gently but firmly pressed against the spines between his shoulders. Todd growled and his hips surged forward in a violent thrust, making Serena scream. The scream made Todd stop all together and look down at Serena in both shock and worry. She smiled indicating she was fine and once again she pressed against those spines, making Todd rumble in his chest. He caught her hand and brought it in front of them and said,

"You are certain?" Serena took her hand back and placed it right back on the spines, this time applying more pressure.

Todd roared and began thrusting hard and fast as Serena continued to press on his spines. He kept a fast and brutal pace, causing her to loose her breath with every thrust, reaching place she never even knew she had. Her body was a live wire as he kept up his hard thrusts, one fist tangled in the sheets the other holding her close to him as he started going faster and harder making Serena scream to high heaven, arcing her body, as she felt the ridges flex inside her as Todd came sending her over the edge as well. They collapsed in an exhausted heap the cool air of the Hive helping to cool their heated bodies as they learned how to breath again.

It was hours later when Serena woke up again, this time she was naked, wrapped in a sheet with Todd's arms around her as he slept. Serena smiled as she watched him sleep thinking about how far they had come, how close they were to finding a cure for the Wraith. She wanted more then anything to give Todd another chance at living like a human man.

'Who knows, maybe then he could have a family...maybe we could have a family." With that thought in mind Serena snuggled in closer to Todd and soon feel back asleep.


	19. Chapter 18

The New Girl

Chapter Eighteen

It had been three days since Serena had woken on the Hive and she had to say, she was starting to like it. Though she would have preferred to have her lab, or at least her own equipment, the science devision was very generous, giving her both space and tools to keep working on taking samples and notes on what would hopeful be a cure to benefit all parties involved. At first some of the officers were somewhat stand offish, as if at any moment during her drawing of their blood she might just lurch out and bite them; but after Serena teased one of them about the fact that girls of her kind might have coodies, most of them were a bit more at ease with her and her teasing sense of humor.

Todd spent most of his time either helping to find more information on how his kind were created, or commanding his Hive as that got closer to their destination. If anything he was diligent in how he commanded his men, and often times Serena found just watching him interact with them inspiring.

'Oh if only John could see this.' she thought,

'He'd be seeing a mirrored image of himself.' Todd ruled his men with an iron fist, but held a great deal of human-like understanding and had very realistic expectations of those he commanded. At times Serena wondered if that was her influence or Johns shining through, but either way it made Serena hope that the transition for most if not all the Wraith to a more human-like existence would be smooth. Serena even noted that Todd seemed to sleep more while she was around, though he had claimed on several occasions of not needing nearly as much sleep as she did. Still whenever she would crawl into bed and let sleep take over, he would slip in next to her at some point in the night and stay with her until the next day.

Now it was mid afternoon on the third day and Serena was just getting used to her new routine, when Todd come into her make-shift lab and said,

"We are approaching the planet and we'll soon be in orbit above it. Would you like to come and see?" Serena nearly jumped out of her chair and dashed down the hall with a chuckling Todd trailing after her. The observation deck had an excellent view of a beautiful green and blue planet which held a Stargate for her to contact Atlantis. Serena had to admit, she didn't know how she was going to go about explaining what happened on the other planet, but she was happy never the less that soon she would be able to see the City again, along with her friends.

(Mean While, on Atlantis)...

John was pissed, no he was beyond pissed, he was furious. They had lost contact with Serena over three days ago and they still hadn't launched a rescue mission. He knew that the chances of finding her alive were slim to none, but that still didn't stop him from nearly hijacking a Jumper to go find her. Serena had become like a little sister to him, a real pain in the ass, but a sister, and John never wanted his sister to be out in the galaxy alone.

'Well she wasn't alone when she left.' he reminded himself, and it only seemed to make him more angry. Todd had promised to keep her safe and now they were both missing, or more to the point, they couldn't get a lock on the address Todd put in for them after four hours had past.

It had all gone to shit, and John wasn't sure what to think. He had thought that Todd was telling the truth when he claimed to have a Hive orbiting the planet he asked to be sent to so that he might feed and then return. He had even been willing to allow a squad of marines to go with him, but no...Serena just had to go with him and make sure he got what he needed. In all honesty, John couldn't blame her for being concerned for Todd, though at the same time he just wished she hadn't been so instant on going with him by herself. Now that they had lost contacted Colonel Carter had made it clear that they would wait and see what happened next. However, this little waiting game was starting to get on John's nerves.

Ronan had been somewhat indifferent at first, then as time wore on he became just as restless as John, if not worse, and Teyla was nearly beside herself with worry as the days went by. Now everyone was on edge, even Carter, who was known for keeping cool in situations like this. John realized it had been very hard for her to order everyone to wait until they heard anything, though that didn't stop him from chewing her out when he found out there was to be no rescue. He could still recall what had been said,

"What do you mean we wait, for all we know she could be hurt, maybe even dead and you're going to leave her out there!?" Carter sighed leaning back in her chair, saying,

"John we have lost connection with the address to that world, and we have no information on whether any of the near by planets has a gate, or the address to them. I'm not comfortable sending out anyone into unknown territory without some way of keeping in contact. I know how you feel, I'm worried too John, but I also have to consider that the possibility of her being dead is very high. Whether it was Todd's doing or not." John clenched his fists and paced the length of the room as she went on.

"Until we know more or have some kind of contact with Todd's allies, we'll just have to wait." And that was her final word on the subject.

John leaned against the railing on one of the outer decks of the upper levels of Atlantis as he wondered where, and, if she was alive, how Serena was doing. Just then his com went off and Carter's voice came through saying,

"John we need you in the gate room, now!" He didn't even ask what was happening he just ran to the nearest lift and made his way to the control room. As soon as he entered the room he saw the gate had made a connection with an incoming wormhole. The shield was up and Carter stood next to one of the operating officers waiting for any form of identification. Sheppard came up the steps and stood next to Carter asking,

"What's up?" Carter looked up at John and then nodded toward the gate saying,

"We're not sure, but someone knows our address and we aren't familiar with theirs." She turned to the monitors and said,

"Anything?" One of the officers near by shook his head saying,

"Nothing...wait...we're receiving a radio transmission." Carter nodded and said,

"On speakers." and what they heard both shocked and thrilled all of them.

"Come in Atlantis...this is Doctor Marlo, do you copy? Atlantis, do you copy? This is Doctor Marlo, please respond." Carter nearly fumbled with her com as she responded saying.

"This is Atlantis, Serena can you hear me?" A sigh was heard over the speaker system of command.

"Oh thank God, I though someone had fallen asleep on the job over there." Carter could help the small laugh the escaped her as she responded.

"Sorry, we had no idea who it was, there was no identification code."

"Yeah, sorry about that I kind of lost my codes and things while running for my life." John activated his come then and said,

"What the hell happened out there?!"

"Is that John? Hey, hope I didn't give you too much of a scare." John shook off her apology and repeated himself with even more infuses,

"What..the..hell..happened?" Serena sighed again and said,

"Well if you'd lower the shield and let us through we'll explain."

"Us?" interjected Carter.

"Yes 'us', Todd's with me and we have one or two officers here too." said Serena. Carter looked at John as if to say, 'see waiting sometimes works out', but the look on his face said 'don't you start'. Carter smiled and said,

"We're lowering the shield now, come on through, you some serious explaining to do young lady." John had a smile on his face at that, and it grew even wider with Serena's response of,

"Yes Mom."

A few minutes later found Serena, Todd and a few Wraith officers sitting in the briefing room telling them what had happened on the planet before they lost contact and after. Of course Serena left out all the parts of how much closer she and Todd had become, but the look she kept getting from Teyla said that they would be talking later. In any case, she was back and ready to continue her work, but Carter insisted that she have Doctor Keller look her over and to get in at least one day of rest before continuing her work. Carter turned to Todd then and said,

"I'm not sure how I can express our gratitude. You kept her alive and you brought her back just as you said you would and beyond. I'm also sorry for your losses." Todd bowed his head saying,

"Your thanks and sympathies are more then sufficient, Colonel Carter. However, there is still a great deal of danger if the one who betrayed my alliance is still alive." He looked at Sheppard then as he went on.

"If they have proven themselves useful then the Queen will keep him alive until the day he prove s to be of no more worth to her. At the moment I'm recalling all of the Hives in my allies or at the very least warning them of the traitor, but it may not be enough. I'm still uncertain as to how much they know and if they are one of my higher ranking officers then my alliance is in a great deal of danger." He looked back to Colonel Carter and said,

"I once asked for your help in achieving a common goal, but now I ask for your help in achieving mine. Can you help me find a place to hide the three Hive I have left behind?"


	20. Chapter 19

The New Girl

Chapter Nineteen

In the cold outreaches of the Pegasus Galaxy a lone Wraith cruiser makes its way through a large armada of Hives to the Primary's Hive at the center of the host. The ship quickly docks and the bridge informs the Queen of her soldiers' return. Sitting upon her throne she waits impatiently for the commanding officer of her troops to enter. She was almost gleeful as he entered the audience chamber and knelt before her to make his report. However, as soon as her eyes met his she could see the shame and underline fear accompanied by the visions of his failure to capture the Wraith commander she had learned was attempting to cure their kind.

Her anger flared as she backhanded the officer with such force he was tossed back a few feet from his original kneeling position. He returned to said spot as his Queen paced back and forth in front of her throne. The officer new well the price for his failure and he would at least except his fate with dignity.

"How could you have failed?!" she asked with a hiss. Her skirts rustled with the same furry that was boiling just beneath the surface as she faced her officer for an answer. When none came she growled and sat in her throne with such force her skirts swept over to the side, nearly slapping the officer in the face as they came to rest against the step of the dais. She spoke in a dangerously low tone, saying,

"You had superior forces, you even destroyed the camps they had on the planet. Yet he still manages to escape with what is left of his alliance?!" The officer didn't make any objection to her assessment, or try to defend himself or his tactics for there was no point, he would still be punished. She went on,

"Did you at least ascertain who is helping him to find this cure? Any information on where they hail from or perhaps a bit of their research?"

To this the officer raised his head saying,

"There was a human woman with him when he returned to the campsite. She appeared to be from a fairly advanced world if her clothes were any indication of her origins. However, I did not recognize them as being from any of the worlds we have either culled or traded with. Her manner was very brash and disrespectful, and she was not afraid of the Wraith commander." The Queen listened intently to him as he went on.

"I do believe that this woman was helping him to find the cure, but they carried no tools or research with them; and in fact it seemed that the commander was very weak. It would seem that he had not fed for an extended period of time, for as soon as the enemy darts were overhead he fed on several of my soldiers before he made his escape with the woman." To this the Queen arced a brow saying,

"He took the woman with him?" The officer shook his head saying,

"More accurately, he stunned both myself and the woman when I tried to use her as a shield. He then ran with her still unconscious in his arms to open ground, where one of the darts swept them up, according to my men." the last was said with a great deal of shame and self loathing, yet it went unnoticed by the Queen, who was still contemplating all he had told her.

After a few moments she said,

"And what of the one who told us of the commander's location?" The officer arced a brown at the Queen's question, but answered none the less, saying,

"He's in a holding cell aboard the cruiser." She smiled then, saying,

"Bring him to me!" The officer stood then and looked to one of the guards at the door, the guard nodded to the silent command and left the chamber. He returned a few minutes later with another guard and a smaller Wraith in restraints. The small Wraith was made to kneel before the Queen while the officer came to stand next to him, as the Queen said,

"So you are the one who lead us to your commander." She stood and walked down from the dais to stand right in front of the Wraith, saying,

"Tell me, what do you know of your commander's habits and...relations?" Her lips curled slightly at the last bit, and the Wraith understood what she meant. He had only seen the human once or twice, but the way his commander had acted around her did seem odd to him, as he said,

"I don't know where she is from, but I do know she is helping to create this cure my commander is hoping for. However, he treats her as if she were an equal from what I have seen of them, and there are even rumors that they are... affectionate with each other." The Queen's eyes widened at this as she said,

"Affectionate, how affectionate?" The Wraith looked down as if he were ashamed to say, but the Queen mentally forced him to look at her as she repeated herself,

"How affectionate?"

The Wraith swallowed thickly and said,

"From what I've been told...he has shared what humans would call, a kiss with her." There was a look of pure shock on the Queen's face at this, as the officer went on,

"It is even said that he kissed her in front of a whole company of his men on the bridge of one of the Hives before she was taken away by more of her own people. Witnesses say she was in tears when they pulled her away and that the commander even told them to take her before we fought with another alliance." The Queen let this sink in, and after a few moments looked down at the Wraith and said,

"You have been very helpful to me, but I can't take the chance that you'll betray me as you have your commander." the Wraith didn't even have time to look shocked as the Queen slammed her right hand onto the center of his chest. She continued to feed until only a dried out husk that was once the traitor remained.

She let the dead Wraith fall to the floor and turned to her officer, who returned to his kneeling position in front of her. Using two fingers she forced him to look up at her saying,

"You have also done well in bringing me information, but you still have failed to bring what I asked for." He closed his eyes just as her right hand slammed onto his chest, he never made a sound and fell to the floor as another dried husk when she was through. Looking up to the two guards the Queen growled and said,

"Have this trash removed, and bring the rest of the officer's unit to the feeding chambers to be cocooned and stored." She returned to her throne as she went on, saying,

"And send in my commander, I have a job for him."

(Back on Atlantis)...

Sheppard was starting to get a bit annoyed with being stuck in the briefing room for over three hours, but the subject was a very serious one. How were they going to hid an alliance of Wraith Hives so that not only would the alliance be safe, but everyone else would be as well?

'Yep that's a tough one.' Sheppard thought to himself, and it was only being made tougher by Rodney. Though there were plenty of unoccupied planets out there, Rodney seemed keen on putting as much distance between the Wraith and Atlantis as possible. However, Serena was not having it saying that if they were to be put so far away, not only would they be far from help should they need it, but it would take longer for her to come up with a cure.

"If I had easy access to them then my research would progress faster, but with the way you're going about this, Rodney. It would require me making special trips there and back again to get samples, which would take more time and increase the chances of my samples being exposed and useless." McKay rolled his eyes and said,

"And the ideal situation for you would be to have the Wraith orbiting above our heads!"

"Well at least then I'd be able to get samples and finish my tests quicker!" she retorted, but before Rodney could respond Carter cut in saying,

"We'll put the Wraith alliance on an uninhabited M'class planet within one hyper jump of Atlantis. That will give us plenty of distance, while still being fairly close so that Doctor Marlo can continue her research." Carter looked up and across the table to Todd, who had been quiet through out this whole debate and said,

"Is that a reasonable compromise to you?"

Todd nodded, saying,

"It is, and if it's possible to find a world that has edible vegetation, our worshipers will no doubt be grateful." Carter nodded her compliance with this and adjourned the meeting, allowing Serena to take Todd to his new room. True it was the same clear glass room they had used for Michael, but at least he wouldn't be sleeping on a cold floor tonight. Serena opened the door and followed him in. She watched him while he looked around noting the cameras in each corner of the ceiling making it impossible to hide in the room, but then he had nothing to hide. At least that's what Serena hoped, as he turned to look at her with a sad look in his eyes. She felt a slight tingle in her mind before she heard his voice in her head say,

'I will never keep anything from you.' She lowered her gaze to the floor feeling ashamed that she still had those thoughts after everything that had happened. Didn't she love him? Yes. Didn't she trust him? With her life. So what was her problem? Serena had no idea what to say or do, she was so caught up in her own little world that she didn't notice Todd had moved until she saw his boots.

She looked up to see his gold-green eyes looking at her with vast amounts of love and understanding that she didn't know what to say.

"Then don't say anything." said Todd as he placed his hands on either side of her face and lowered his head until their lips met. He kissed her slowly but deeply and filled her heart and mind with all his thoughts and feelings for her, and found himself reviling as she did the same for him. Serena had never felt like this, never had she felt so open and exposed and yet uncaring because the only one who saw it all and loved every part of it was Todd. It was in these moments that she felt she was the luckiest women in the galaxy if not the universe. They pulled apart to breath, but their minds and emotions continued to mingle, as she looked up directly at one of the cameras thinking,

'Who cares if they're there, let them watch.' She felt Todd's chest rumble with laughter at her thoughts as she reached up to pull him in for another kiss. He placed his hands on her hips, but soon let them slip even lower under her behind to lift her up. Wrapping her legs around his waist and arms around his shoulders, Serena continued to kiss him passionately as he walked them to the bed, saying in her mind,

'I certainly hope they don't mind the show, otherwise Sheppard will kill me.' Serena growled and turned them over so she was sitting on top of his hips, saying through their link,

'He'll have to get through me first.'


	21. Chapter 20

The New Girl

Chapter Twenty

In the weeks following Carter's decision to have the Wraith relocated to a near by planet. Rodney, with much whining and complaining, had found a suitable world to serve as a new 'hide out' for Todd's alliance. Though the planet was uninhabited by humans it was very fertile and held many plant and animal species that could be forged and hunted for the alliance's resident worshipers. Serena was happy for Todd and his people, but when she was told he would be leaving to inspect his men and see how they were adjusting; she, once again, jumped at the opportunity to get more samples.

This time Carter decided to send a small unit with her to see to it that she and her samples returned. Though Serena claimed it was unnecessary, Carter would not be moved on this one saying,

"The last time I let you go alone, you were captured and nearly killed, I'm not taking any chances this time around." Serena sighed saying,

"But that was a completely different situation, Todd was starving and we were going to an unfamiliar world. This time we'll be on a world that's only a short jump away and fairly well known, or at the very least in the city's database. I think an armed escort is going a bit too far."

"Well I don't, and it's not up for debate, you either go with an escort or you don't go at all and I send another team to get your samples for you." said Carter, to which Serena just stared at her in disbelief. Carter sighed and said in a more sympathetic tone,

"I'm sorry Serena, but I just don't want to take the chance of another betrayal putting you in danger. It's not that I don't have faith in Todd, he's proven himself to be a great ally many times now; it's his men I'm uncertain about, and until I know for certain where they stand I want to air on the side of caution." Serena's shoulders dropped, but she nodded in understanding, in fact she was grateful that the Colonel was letting her go at all. So with a few more words on when they would be leaving and that Serena was to stay in constant contact with her unit, Serena headed down the halls of Atlantis in search of Todd.

She was about to turn down the next hallway when she almost ran into Teyla. The Athosian woman was starting to show faint signs of her pregnancy, but was still very active and determined to remain useful to her team even if she had been relieved from duty. Serena smiled at her, wondering for a moment if she would ever know what it was like to be a mother. Then again, she hadn't come across anything in her research that would indicate that humans and Wraith couldn't reproduce, but still she couldn't help but wonder, as Teyla asked her where she was headed.

"Oh I'm just looking for Todd, he's going to be heading back to his men soon and I'm going with him to get the samples I failed to get last time." said Serena with a smile. Teyla smiled back saying,

"May I walk with you part of the way, I have another appointment with Doctor Keller. I am to have my first moving pictures of my child taken today." Serena couldn't help but giggle at the Athosian's words, saying,

"You mean a ultrasound, to take a look at the baby's position, heartbeat and development so you can be sure he or she is healthy. I don't mind walking with you, would you mind if I sit in on your appointment and take a look at the little guy too?" Smiling at Serena, Teyla nodded her agreement to this as they walked on to the medical bay.

Keller looked up from setting up the ultrasound and was slightly surprised to see Teyla walk in with Serena on her heals, but with the quick explanation of Teyla allowing Serena to be present, she nodded and carried on with her set up. Soon Teyla was laying down on the exam table with some cold gel on her abdomen while Keller slid the ultrasound around the area. Serena watched the screen with Teyla to see the slightly fuzzy out line of her baby. So small, but already it looked like a small person with ten fingers and ten toes, a strong heart beat and it's body facing down as it should. All the while Serena was in awe. Sure the process and development of a child was no mystery to her, she had to study the development of genes in young children and infants while still in college. But, to see this little being, moving and living inside her friend, she couldn't help her feelings of wonderment at this little person growing inside its mother.

Again Serena thought on the possibility of having children herself. She wasn't sure what Todd would want or do if they were to have a baby, but then she didn't even know if they could. From what she knew of Wraith anatomy they were anatomically compatible, and there was nothing in her analysis of their DNA that indicated they couldn't intermingle with another humanoid species. However, she had yet to come across an actual case of a human/Wraith hybrid by birth and not design as it had been with Michael. Her thoughts continued to wander as Keller finished Teyla's checkup and told her to again keep exercising if she would like, but to not push it.

"This baby is now your top priority and that means you need to listen to your body. When it tells you to slow down, slow down, ok?" Teyla nodded, saying,

"I will Jennifer, and thank you again for showing me my child through this marvelous device." she pointed to the ultrasound with a smile as she got off the examination table. Keller shook her head saying,

"It's no trouble at all, and it's just as helpful to me as it is to you to know that your baby is healthy." Teyla thanked her again before heading out the door leaving Serena still standing next to the ultrasound deep in thought.

It was only after Keller had said her name a few times that Serena came back to herself and looked up at the good Doctor with a smile, saying,

"Sorry, I was just in my own little world for a few minutes there." Keller gave her a slightly confused look, saying,

"What were you thinking about?" Serena shook her head and said,

"Oh nothing really, just thinking on how lucky Teyla is to have a little one on the way. If it turns out she doesn't find the father again, at least she'll have a part of him with her for the rest of her life." The Doctor gave her a sad smile, remembering what it was like when she and Teyla had found the whole of her people gone, and then finding out Teyla was pregnant shortly after returning to Atlantis. Though the news of the baby was wonderful, it still couldn't stave off the worry Teyla had for her people including her child's father. Keller shook her head to rid her mind of those sad thoughts and looked up to find Serena staring off again. Curious, Keller put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a slight shake. Once again Serena came round and now had a look of uncertainty on her face, which worried Keller. She had always known Serena to be sure of herself and her decisions, and to see her looking so vulnerable made Keller fairly concerned as she said,

"What's wrong, Serena? Are you feeling ok?"

Serena nodded saying,

"I feel fine...but, if you don't mind...I'd like to check on something." Now Keller was really worried, but she nodded her compliance to help her fellow Doctor, as Serena went on,

"You have to promise to keep this between us." Keller guided her to a smaller area away from anyone who might overhear them and said,

"A Doctor's confidence is a sacred bond. What do you need checked?" Serena took a deep breath and quietly said, "I'd like to take a pregnancy test." To say Keller was shocked would have been a hugh understatement. For a few moments she just stared at Serena wondering if she had heard her correctly, but the look on Serena's face and the pleading of 'please don't make me ask again' in her eyes made Keller realize she was serious. With a slight nod, Keller walked Serena to the near by bathroom and told her to wait for a moment while she gathered a few things. Keller then made her way back to the bathroom and locked the door so they wouldn't be overheard or interrupted.

The first test was the usual at home pregnancy test, and Keller turned around to give Serena some privacy, while asking her to also fill a small test cup with urine, while she got a syringe ready to take a blood sample for a more detailed series of tests. Serena held the stick waiting for the results to appear while Keller took both her urine cup and blood sample to start some more tests. By the time Keller came back the test was ready to view and what Serena saw both made her relieved and a bit disappointed. The test showed she wasn't pregnant, but Keller shook her head and said,

"You can't always rely on these tests, that's why I took other samples to run more detailed testing to be sure. I'll have the results in a few days. Until then..." She looked uncomfortable as she went on,

"If you and Todd...interact, make sure to have protection." Serena nodded, after all if it turned out she wasn't pregnant, having protection would give her time to talk with Todd about where they were headed with their relationship. Though Serena had no greater desire then to be with Todd long term, she had no idea if he felt the same way. She had felt how much he cared for her and how his thoughts revolved around her, but did that mean he wanted to be with her for the long term? And when she was dead and gone, then what, would any children they'd had have a step mother at some point? She had no idea, but she was determined to find out, just as soon as she knew what the results of Keller's tests were.

Keller for her part wanted her to go and talk to him right away and maybe tell Colonel Carter afterward, but that idea was shot down as Serena explained that she wanted to be sure there was even anything to fuss about first. The Doctor shook her head and said,

"If you wait to talk to him and the Colonel then things will go from bad to worse." Serena looked at Keller in mild shock, saying,

"You think Todd and I having a baby is wrong?!"

"Not wrong, just badly timed would be my thought on it, and not to mention unexpected on several fronts. We have no idea how a Wraith hybrid develops or if there are certain needs that have to be met for it to be healthy. Plus once it's born will it need to feed when it becomes of age?" said Keller with pleading in her voice, but Serena was still upset. She still felt that even though Keller mentioned some good points that she was against it because it would be a Wraith's child. If she had a baby with one of Teyla's people there wouldn't be this amount of fuss, but then Teyla's people were already gone by the time Serena came to Atlantis. In all honesty she couldn't see how having a Wraith child would be any different from having a human baby. She'd had many talks with Todd on Wraith breeding and knew that the process was the same, only the female fed on energy rather then food. If the female had had her digestive system reactivated the process would be exactly the same, at least in theory.

It was at that point that Serena stopped to think. In theory...a Wraith to human pregnancy would be successful, but could she really hang that kind of hope and trust on it? Human pregnancy still held risks, there were several things that could go wrong and take either mother, child, or even both, and Doctors knew the insides and outs of the process. Could she really take all that along with the added risk of not knowing for sure how a Wraith pregnancy worked? Serena's head started to hurt, along with her heart, as she sat down on the now lidded stool in the bathroom. She had no idea she had wanted children so badly, in fact she didn't know she could feel so much until she met Todd. Sure she was passionate and tenacious with her work, but when it came to people she had missed out on a great deal that was now starting to really kick her ass. Serena let her head fall into her hands, not sure what she should do, when she felt a hand gently begin to rub her back.

She looked up to see Doctor Keller giving her a smile full of compassion and understanding as she let Serena think for a few minutes. Then she sighed saying,

"The last thing that anyone wants is for you to be hurt, and I'm certain Todd wouldn't want you to take unnecessary risks with your health. All I would like as a Doctor making a clinically sound judgement would be to have the information on what my patient is getting into; what that entails, treatment options if necessary, and details on the process. The only other thing that would make this more ideal, would be to have at least both Todd and Colonel Carter in on it, though I'm sure after a while they won't be the only ones." Serena nodded in understanding and wiped a few stray tears away, saying,

"Ok, I'll talk with Todd first and get you what you need, and when I get back I'll talk to Colonel Carter no matter what the results say." Keller smiled and pulled Serena into a hug saying,

"It'll be ok sweetie, it'll be ok." Serena hugged Keller back and was soon off to join Todd and her armed escort in the Gate room.


	22. Chapter 21

The New Girl

Chapter Twenty-One

The last twenty-four hours were the longest Serena could ever remember and her waiting period wasn't over yet. Keller told her that if she got any results while Serena was off world she'd find a way to contact her, but so far there'd been no word. So Serena continued to wait while she gathered samples from over a hundred Wraith from several of Todd's allied Hives. Todd, however, was nowhere to be found when Serena took a break to look for him. All the Wraith officers would tell her was that he was checking on all of the Hives and gathering every commander's report on their condition. This made Serena even more nervous, because it left her to suffer through the last twenty-four hours without getting a chance to talk to him like Keller had asked. She knew that the condition of the Hives was important, but Serena couldn't help but feel that the chance she could be pregnant was slightly more important.

In any case, Todd was busy, and so again, Serena would just have to wait until she got some time alone with him to talk. So she went about her tasks of taking samples and preforming a few small tests to separate the officers based on their genetic markers. It was around noon the next day when a few of the worshipers were gathered from a recently landed cruiser to forge for food. Serena's sample taking station was just on the outskirts of a large forest to provide her with shade while she worked, but even being surrounded by nature did nothing for her nearly shattered nerves. So she asked to tag along, thinking a walk might be better then sitting around, and though the officer in charge found it odd she would want to go along, he agreed.

So, slipping passed her ring of armed guardians that Carter had sent with her, Serena took only her ipod and walky, just in case if she needed help she could radio for it. The small group headed out into the woods, with Serena close behind as they began their search for food. It was a few hours into the search when the group finally found a small area where the woods parted to make way for a stream. There they found berries and roots that were eatable and so the worshipers began plucking and digging. Serena, however, wondered off a bit further, keeping the group in sight as she listened to her songs and thought on what she would say to Todd when she saw him.

'Ok... Hey I haven't seen you in a while, how are you? I was just finishing up getting more blood samples and I was wondering if you would like to talk?...no no...alright how about... Hey, I need to talk to you, but you've been so busy I haven't been able to get a hold of you...what am I doing?!' Serena wondered as she continued walking along the shore of the creek, while continuing to think on how to break the news to Todd about the tests.

After a few minutes of arguing with herself Serena finally looked up and saw she had moved further off then she had intended. The foraging group was nowhere in sight when she looked back the way she came, and when she looked ahead to where the stream was flowing from she saw the mouth of a very large cave coming out of the side of a cliff at the base of a mountain. The place was dark but tranquil, and Serena decided to sit just inside for a while before heading back to the group. The afternoon sun shone through the trees warming her legs as they dangled off the edge of a large rock sitting just side the cave.

'It must be passed noon.' she thought as she looked up at the Sun's position in the sky. Though the world was different compared to Earth, its daylight hours were very similar to her home planet, or Atlantis for that matter. Serena just let her mind go, thinking that if she just took a minute to chill that maybe the answer to how she was going to tell Todd would just come to her. Instead a small voice barely above a whisper slipped into her mind, or rather weakly brushed it.

Serena looked around, but she couldn't see anyone, then it was there again, that slight brush of another's mind. It was so soft that if she had been distracted she would never have noticed it. She focused on the feeling and tried to hear what the voice was saying, maybe it was one of the officers from the foraging group saying they were going to start heading back. But as she honed in on the voice it began to sound distinctly feminine, and the words were not in the harsh tones of orders. They were a mournful and desperate plea, but for what she wasn't sure, the words were unclear. So standing from her rock, Serena tried to decipher where the voice was coming from. Though why she was trying to find out which way the voice was coming from rather then running back to camp to worn everyone that there was someone already on this planet, she had no idea. The only thing she knew was this voice, whoever it belonged to, was in desperate need of help. And she wasn't one to turn around and run the other way just because she didn't know what or who it was asking...no begging for help.

She closed her eyes and let the voice wash over her mind, focusing on the direction where the voice seemed to be the loudest. Turning in every direction, she let herself listen for them, and then Serena finally stopped when she finally heard a single word loud and clear,

'Truth...' This confused Serena,

'What truth?' she wondered to herself as she took a step into the cave toward the voice, and again in her head she heard, much louder now,

'The truth about us...our kind...the Wraith.' Now Serena was truly interested and kept walking further into the cave, deeper and deeper until she was sure she would fall out the other end of the planet. The light from her ipod was enough to keep her from tripping on the rocks, but she could see very little in the inky black as she pushed on, the voice was now and constant humming in her mind.

'Child, you know of my kind, but you have yet to know the truth of our creation.' Serena listened as she walked on saying through their link,

'What made you the way you are then? Who is responsible, and why can't they help you change back?' The voice gave a humorless chuckled and said,

'All in good time, you are very close now. I will tell you all when you arrive.'

'Arrive where?' Serena asked just before she bumped into a solid wall.

Rubbing her head from the impact Serena looked the wall over and noted though it was hard it was most certainly not rock. Not unless rocks on this planet had vanes popping out of them that seemed to pulsate like a heartbeat wherever you touched them. Serena looked up the wall and noted that this wasn't just a wall, it was a wall connected to a very large ship, or at least a part of what used to be a ship. A Wraith ship. The voice came through again, saying,

'You are very close. Come inside, I am too weak to come to you.'

'Where do I go?' asked Serena as she looked around the immediate area to see if there was any kind of opening she could pass through. A true smile seemed to come through the link, as the voice responded, saying,

'A few yards to your left is a tear in the hull that you can pass through. Once you are inside make your way to the center of the ship and I will do the rest to bring you to me.' Serena almost wanted to ask what she meant by that last part, but decided against. This person was very weak, and needed to conserve their energy rather then playing twenty questions. She quickly found the opening and slipped onto the upper decks of the ship, it was at this point she berated herself for not paying more attention to the design of some of Todd's ships, cause she had no idea which way to go. After a moment or two though she felt the presence in her mind tug at her to go straight ahead and then make a right. So without question Serena followed the small tugging as it guided her through the many halls and levels of the ship.

Soon Serena came to a large empty room. The center of the floor seemed to have been torn out from the bottom and the hole the was left seemed to fall forever. Serena looked around at the walls, which seemed to be a lighter color then the rest of the ships interior and in her mind more vulnerable and sensitive then any other surface in the ship.

'What was this room used for?' she wondered as she looked down the hole in the floor.

'It used to house the Hive's central command systems, what to humans would be the central nervous system.' said the voice. She was very close now, but Serena still couldn't discern where she was as she went on.

'It also housed me for a time, until we crashed here... centuries ago.' Serena could hear the sadness and regret in her voice as she continued to stare down the large hole saying,

'Well where are you now?' Again Serena got the distinct impression that the one speaking to her was smiling, as the voice said,

'Down here.' It was at that moment that movement from deep within the hole caught Serena's eye, and in moments there were several large tentacle-like forms coming up toward her from far below. Serena stepped back as one finally made it's way up and into the room. From what she could see of it in the ship's dim light it was made of the same material as the ship and though it seemed to be moving on it's own it motions were controlled and slow.

The voice sounded in her mind again, saying,

'Come, I am far below where I used to be and you must let me carry you down if you wish to avoid injury.' To say Serena had her doubts about whether or not she would make it out of this unharmed, would have been an understatement. But she had come too far to back out now, and besides if this person had any information on how the Wraith were made it would be invaluable to finding a way to cure them. So moving slowly, Serena inched toward one of the tentacles and placed a hand on its cool surface. Instantly the large limb wrapped around her waist and gently lifted her off the floor and then began its decent down the hole from where it came. Serena took note of the damage as she was lowered down several levels and even a bit further into the ground floor of the cave. Finally the tentacle placed her on solid ground at the bottom of the hole and unwrapped itself from her waist before slithering toward a large sack-like structure near by. The sack had several tentacles going in and out of it, all of which pulsed and hummed as if they were alive. Serena remembered Todd mentioning that Hives, and in fact all Wraith ships, were made of organic matter, that lived and adapted to whatever the Wraith needed.

As Serena watched these nerves pulsate she noted there was something on the other side of the sack itself, a growth of some sort. Curious she walked around and stepped over the tentacles to get a better look. When she came around the sack she began to realize that the form she was seeing was not a growth, but a woman...a Wraith.

"You're a Queen." Serena said in both awe and slight concern. For from what she could see a good half of the Queen's body was fused to the nerve sack leaving only her torso, arms and head exposed leaning slightly forward. She had dark red hair and the pale green skin of her kind along with the green-yellow eyes. The Queen lifted her face to Serena, her pupils dilated to their normal slits and she smiled, at real truly genuine smile. Serena could feel her relief flowing over her and her over abundance of happiness that it nearly brought her to tears.

"I have waited many years, for someone, anyone to come. You can not know how much your presence is needed, for I have something that will end this never ending cycle of pain and death. Something that it seems you yourself have a personal interest." The Queens words not only excited Serena, they also made her wary as she moved in closer, saying,

"And what would be the price for this knowledge?"

The Queen shook her head and said,

"Already to many have died by our hands that the only price I would ask of you is a little of your time to know the truth." Serena seated herself on the ground in front of the sack and said,

"What is the truth?"


	23. Chapter 22

The New Girl

Chapter Twenty-Two

Serena sat in front of the central nerve center of an centuries old Hive that had crashed with its Queen fused to the front center of its nerve sack. Though the Queen was still alive she was weak and the ship's power was dying. The Queen had promised her the truth, what really happened to cause the Wraith to become the largest power in the galaxy next to the Ancients of Atlantis. So Serena sat patiently, waiting for the Queen to begin. Serena knew she was going to be in big trouble already for wondering off without her armored guards, and no doubt both Todd and Sheppard would have her hide for taking a risk such as talking to an unknown Wraith Queen. But, this was an opportunity that she couldn't afford to miss. If there was even the slightest chance that the information this Queen had could lead to a breakthrough in her quest to finding a cure for the Wraith's feeding, then she would take it.

The room was silent and still with the exception of the thick tentacles pulsing in and around the sack, pumping power to every part of the Hive that was still connected. Then the Queen lifted her head and said,

"We were human once, my race and I...I was a mother and wife before the Ancients came to our world." Serena's eye's grew wide at the notion,

'Could the Ancients have been responsible?' but she push her questions to the back of her mind and just leaned in to listen as the Queen went on.

"They were at war, with an old enemy unknown to us. Our world was small, our people peaceful, and when asked to join them in the fight we refused for we wanted no part in their affairs. But, they wouldn't take no for an answer. First people started going missing, then whole towns seemed to disappear overnight, and finally they came to my village." She took a breath as if to steel herself against the memories of it all as she recalled how families were separated and any who were old or sickly were cast aside and left to mourn as the young were used for genetic testing and 'improvement'.

Finally they came up with the perfect soldier, one that had great strength and speed, but was both intelligent and sly. With little need for rest and the ability to heal almost instantaneously they made for terrifying soldiers. But there was a catch, in order to maintain their strength and other gifts, these new creatures needed to feed on life, human life. So the first batch was set loose on those they once loved and knew that were left for one reason or another on the planet. Once the new breed had been perfected they began changing everyone they had gathered, both children and adults, until everyone was now what the Ancients dubbed as their army. Children were schooled in self defense and strategy, while the adults were quickly made battle ready. The Ancients' amry fought and fought, developed as time went on until they began to make their own ships, with their own scientists and workers until they had become an new race all together. Instinctually females became the leaders and the males the subordinates, soon with a great deal of work and secrecy they even began to clone soldiers of their own to increase their numbers.

The Queen quirked an unamused smile saying,

"The Ancients thought themselves safe in letting us do as we saw fit seeing as we were winning their war for them. However, those of us who still remembered our lives before the change began forming alliances with each other and any other Hives that would fight to be free of the Ancients' rein. By the time we had the Ancients enemy on the run, we made our move and turned against our former masters." Serena listened intently as the Queen went on to describe how, though the Ancients had technology, the Wraith had cunning and patience, and soon they were able to multiply into numbers too great for the Ancients to handle.

"So they retreated back to their city, but we would not be denied a cure to this..." she looked at her own hands in disgust as she went on,

"This alteration, but they sunk their city and retreated through their gate to an unknown galaxy. Since then, myself and other's like me have worked long and hard to find a way to at least rid ourselves of our terrifying hunger for humans, but...many simply embraced their new nature and began subjugating other populated worlds. Culling and preserving their prey as if they were no more then cattle!" Serena felt a great swell of pity for her, and looked on her as a woman, not a Queen, or even a Wraith, but a woman with a great deal of shame and regret that she wished to rectify.

Once more the Queen went on with her tale, describing how she had her best scientists working on finding a cure.

"But none were as talented as my own son." Her eyes seemed to dance at the thought of her son, a born Wraith, one of the first generation like Todd.

"He was my first and only born Wraith child, but how I loved him. Even after he was assigned to another Hive to avoid infighting and to keep the peace with other Queens, he kept in contact and let me know what more he had learned." Then her eyes clouded over with grief as she went on, saying,

"Then, on a mission for possible trade with a people known as the Genii, he was lost, captured. Though he was his Queen's most talented scientist and tactician she didn't even bother to demand for his release, or send her men in to take him back by force." It was at that moment Serena's head shot up,

'Surely she couldn't be talking about Todd?' The Queen didn't seem to notice her revelation, however, as she spoke of the research being halted due to attacks from other Hives.

"We were out numbered and the ship was in a great deal of distress and pain, so I came to the central core, and fused myself with the central systems to give the ship my powers of healing and to guide her to land here. But the damage was too severe, so we crashed. I was able to save all the ship's logs and the research my son had sent me, but now they are a part of me. I fear in order to give them to you I will have to give you all of my knowledge and that will require a great deal of strength, strength I may not have."

At that moment Serena's walky went off and Sheppard's angry and slightly panicked voice sounded through the room, saying,

"Serena, where the Hell are you?!" She blushed slightly and turned her ear piece on and responded,

"I'm deep inside a cave just about half a mile away from where the worshipers were foraging earlier today. I'm fine, but I've found something down here that you have to see and hear to believe. I may have found the answer to finding a cure!" The walky clicked and Sheppard's voice came through, saying,

"What were you thinking going off by yourself like that, Carter gave you guards for a reason!" Another voice Serena recognized came over the walky,

"Have you found her?" It was Todd, he was with Sheppard looking for her, which in her mind was a good sign that at least Sheppard knew it wasn't his fault she had gone missing.

"Is Todd with you?" she asked to which Sheppard said,

"Yeah, and Dr. Keller too, she says that she would rather be on sight with ya if you're hurt, though I don't have a clue why." Serena had a clue and she was hoping she was wrong, or at the very least that Keller just wanted to tell her that there was nothing to worry about and the tests came back negative. But now was not the time to be worrying about that, the team would be there soon and she needed to get the information now, or Sheppard, and even Todd, might try to stop her.

So turning to the Queen she said,

"There are people headed this way who may not want you to get near me let alone give me all your memories. So whatever it is you need to do, do it." The Queen arced a brow at her as if she suspected something was amiss, and said,

"Are you certain, child? For once this is done it can not be undone, you will have all of my knowledge and it will more then likely cause some changes to both your body and mind." She gave Serena an intense look saying,

"If you do this you must be prepared for the worst and except everything I show you as your own. This means the title of Queen will also pass to you, for this is how a Queen would crown her successor long ago. Are you sure that the answers you seek is worth it?" Serena thought on it. She had made a great deal of progress with finding the cure yes, but she was still years away from testing a viable serum. With the memories and knowledge the Queen could give her she could find the answer to move the project ahead at maximum speed, and none too soon either. Todd's alliance was in hiding and they would be getting low on food soon. She had to find it, and this might very well be the only way. The Queen was dying and to wait for some other way to extract the memories may result in them loosing everything she had to show them. And she couldn't let that happen.

Serena stepped forward then, and said,

"I'm ready. Show me everything." The Queen nodded and lifted her arms causing several of the tentacles around her to stir and rise from the floor. Gently and slowly they wrapped around Serena's waist, shoulders and legs, tilting her back in a reclined position, with her head within the Queen's reach. The Queen let her cool skinned hand smooth some of Serena's ink-black hair out of her face, as she said,

"Let us begin, I will be as gentle as I can, but I may rush a bit for I don't have much longer." Serena nodded and let herself relax, feeling it might be better to let her mind go blank and calm so she could more readily except the flow of knowledge she was about to receive. The Queen took a deep breath and opened her mind, and small needle-like spines came from her hands and entered under Serena's scalp. This caused Serena to arc her back in a sudden jolt of both pain and surprise, but it was more the unexpectedness of it that made her react, and soon she was laying back again, trying to relax. It wasn't long before images began flowing behind her eyes and into her mind.

It was at that moment that the sound of a gun chocking and clicking into firing position sounded in the darkness and Sheppard along with his team, except Teyla, with Dr. Keller and Todd came into the light. Sheppard held his weapon steady saying in a commanding voice,

"Put her down slowly and I'll consider not shooting your between the eyes." Todd moved forward to look Serena over and then shook his head saying,

"She and the Queen are connected, if you shoot now they will both die." The Queen looked up at the sound of his voice and tears came pouring down her face as she said,

"My son...my boy, can it be?" Todd looked at her with an arced brow as though he was trying to discern whether he knew her. Then recognition spread over his features as he came to stand before the Queen, his face a mask of wonder and awe. Sheppard stood back with the others confused and was about to voice his state of mind, when Todd knelt before the Queen, which just served to confuse him further.

"Would someone kindly explain to us dull humans what the Hell is going on?!" Todd turned to Sheppard about to explain, when the Queen gasped in dismay saying,

"By the Gods...we should have not begun this!"

Everyone looked in her direction as she lifted her arms slightly so she could place her forehead directly against Serena's and tears began anew as she looked up at her son and said,

"She is with child!" Now everyone stared in shock, Keller was almost in tears as she clutched her bag to her chest, which held confirmation that the Queen's words were true, while the other's continued to just stare in disbelief, as the Queen went on.

"The stress from the transference of my memories may very well kill them both!"


	24. Chapter 23

The New Girl

Chapter Twenty-Three

Everyone was in a sheer panic, Serena was unconscious and libel to die from the strain of having the Queen's memories placed in her own mind, but now the Queen had made the claim that she was with child. After speaking with Keller, Sheppard and the others were assured that what the Queen had said was true, Serena was indeed pregnant.

"And if what the Queen says is true, and her memories are causing a great deal of stress, physically and mentally? Then there is a very high possibility that both will suffer and more then likely die from the transfer if we can't find a way to ease the strain on her system." said Keller as she rummaged through her bag trying to find something to make Serena relax. In the meantime Rodney began trying to find a way to hack into the main systems so they might find a way to run more power to the dying Queen to allow for a slower transfer.

Todd on the other hand remained by Serena looking as if he was both in shock and the happiest man in the galaxy. He had never heard of a human and Wraith reproducing before, and so he hadn't thought it to be an issue when he and Serena had lain together. Now, however, he was both excited and frightened, and not just by the fact that Serena and his child were in danger, but he wasn't at all sure how to raise a child. That is if Serena wanted to keep the infant, and how he hoped she would as he watched Keller administer some relaxants. He looked up then at the Queen saying,

"Is there no way for you to stop the transfer?" The Queen shook her head in a mournful denial, saying,

"Even if I were to stop now, the information I have already given her would still need to sink in and that alone might be enough to kill her and my grandchild. I am truly sorry, but the information I had was so important that I didn't take into consideration that she might have been in a far too fragile state. She was very determined, and wouldn't back down even after I had told her of the danger." Todd smiled slightly at that saying,

"She is very stubborn." The Queen smiled as well, and said,

"Just like you." she shook her head and let her eyes close saying,

"I thought you to be dead, my son. How ever did you escape from the Genii?"

The next hour or so was spent with Sheppard's team working frantically to save Serena while Todd regaled his mother of how he and Sheppard had escaped together and then worked on finding a means to find a shutdown command for the Replicators, as well as Serena coming in to find a cure for the Wraith. He went on to describe how they had been through many adventures and how his feelings had developed for Serena over that time. The Queen smiled when he talked of how he felt for Serena, and remembered how she had hoped he would find someone and learn to love openly. Now it had finally happened, and because of her hasty wish to give someone the knowledge to change the Wraith's future, she was putting her son's love in grave danger that would possibly claim not only her life but the life of the only grandchild the Queen had. She lowered her head as he came to the end of his tale, feeling an overwhelming sense of shame and remorse.

A few moments later she felt someone's hand on her chin. She looked up to find her son looking into her eyes in a knowing way. He placed his forehead against hers and said in her mind,

'You didn't know, and Serena can be very...convincing when she wants something.' She could hear and feel the smile in her mind as well as the worry he felt for his love. The Queen looked into her son's eyes and said through their link,

'I swear to you my son, she will survive this.' The determination in her mind and manner was enough to give Todd reason to worry. If she slowed the transfer down anymore then she already had with the extra power McKay was feeding into the ship's systems, she might stretch herself out too far. But, just as with Serena, he knew it would be pointless to argue with her, besides she was his Queen and his mother. He wouldn't go against her if she truly wished to do this. Already he could feel her mind slowing down to an almost crawl in comparison to what it had been a moment ago. Serena seemed to relax even further, even Keller was surprised and held off on giving her another dose of relaxant.

Todd resumed his vigil over Serena, placing one hand on her forehead and the other on her belly. Even if the child was no more then a small bundle of cells, he could feel it growing, sense the changes taking place within Serena both mentally and physically. He just hoped that when the transfer was complete she wouldn't suffer any ill effects that could damage her mind or put their child in danger. That's when he nearly kicked himself mentally and cleared his own mind. Leaning down so his forehead touched hers, he let his mind slowly seep into Serena's, feeling his way through the familiar pathways of her mind until he came to where the transfer was taking place. He could feel her confusion and slight panic at seeing so much at one time and not being able to process it all. Quickly he moved in and softly caressed her thoughts to let her know he was there.

'Todd! God! Todd! I can't focus, I can't find anything, see anything!' she cried, and he let his feelings of calm and certainty flow into her saying,

'Shhh...love you need to calm yourself. Focus on my mind, use it as your anchor and just let her memories flow into your mind. Don't try to understand them or control them, just let them go. You'll have plenty of time to know everything she has to show you at your own pace.'

Serena slowed her mind down and let Todd's words guide her to letting her mind relax and focus on his. As their minds mingled Todd showed her what he was feeling to calm her and let her know she was in good company and nothing was going to happen to her. It was in that moment that she felt what Todd had felt earlier, a presence so small she hadn't noticed it before. All her time spent with him had taught her to become more mentally and physically aware, but with all the information flowing into her mind and then stress of the past couple days had made it nearly impossible to focus like she was able to now. This small ball of energy she felt was slowly but surely growing and changing, and she in turn was changing with it. Todd remained silent wanting to let her come to her own conclusion before he spoke with her. Serena focused in a little more on the growing energy. It was coming from her, but why? Then it hit her like a ton of bricks as she said through the link,

'I'm...Todd, I'm...'

She felt him smile in her mind as he seemed to gently touch the small energy growing inside her saying,

'Yes, you are with child.' He could feel her surge of happiness, then worry and finally sadness, which he didn't understand. Didn't she want the child? She seemed to draw away from him a bit and said,

'I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I thought we would have a chance to talk before I even knew for sure if I was...' she couldn't even say it, and Todd's silence only served to make her even more worried. As she searched frantically for the words she desperately wanted to say, Todd reached out and enveloped her into a calming cloud of comfort, love and pride. That's when it hit her, he was proud that she was carrying his child, a feeling that only increased as he said,

'It doesn't matter now. I know we are to have a child, and I couldn't be happier then I am knowing that we have created this little light growing inside you.' Serena found herself nearly in tears mentally, even on the outside a single tear made its way down her cheek, but Todd wiped it away as he spoke in her mind.

'But right now we need to focus on keeping both you and the child as relaxed as possible until the transfer is complete. Can you do that for me?' She let her mind slide into his and gently touched and caressed him lovingly. It was all he needed, to know she would hold on.

Meanwhile, Rodney was making some last minute calculations as he started up the small generator they had brought down after realizing that Serena was in a Hive ship. He let the generator warm up a little bit before slowly letting the power flow into the Hive's central core system and then to the Queen. It was difficult and risky seeing as how not just the Queen but the Hive were both organic and therefor might not respond to an artificial power source. So far, however, things seemed to be working just fine. Both the core and the Queen were responding well and the transfer was going smoothly, especially since Todd did his little mind meld with Serena. Keller didn't even need to give her any relaxants after that, which she stated was wonderful.

"I honestly don't know how the drugs would have effected the fetus if I had to continue giving them to her. At this rate I don't think there will be anything to worry about other then keeping the core and the Queen up and running long enough to complete the transfer." Sheppard butted in then saying,

"Speaking of which, is there any way to know how this whole receiving of the Queen's memories thing will effect her in the long run? I mean will she still be Serena, or will she go all..."

"Wraith on us! I swear if that happens I'm running for the hills!" said Rodney as he finished the last touches on his patch to hold the power at a steady flow.

Keller rolled her eyes at McKay and turned to Sheppard saying,

"I'm not sure what this will mean for her either mentally or physically. All I can tell you is that she will need a great deal of rest after this and I will be keeping a close eye on her and her pregnancy to make sure that at the very least they are both physically well. Her mind and personality will be another matter entirely." Sheppard sighed looking at Todd and Serena as he said,

"Yeah, and somehow I don't think a visit to our local shrink will do much good if she can't handle all those memories she'll be carrying." Keller shrugged her shoulders saying,

"Todd may be the only one who can help her with this, these are Wraith memories she's receiving after all. Who knows they may integrate with hers as if they were her own, but not...I'm really not sure how it will work, but if Todd can't help her then no one can." McKay's head shot up as he came to a startling revelation and said,

"What if she comes out of this thinking she's a Queen?! Did ya ever think about that? Next thing ya know she'll be trying to feed on us!"

It was at that moment that Todd spoke, his head still against Serena's as he let her feel him there while he addressed McKay, saying,

"She will be a Queen." Everyone stared at him in shock, and then all eyes turned to the Queen, who nodded her head in an affirmative to Todd's statement. Sheppard shook his head in disbelief saying,

"Hold on a second! You're telling us that because of this transfer she will be a Queen, are you serious?!" Again the Queen nodded and Todd went on to explain, saying,

"As a Queen nears the end of her rein either by choice or force, she will hand over all of the memories of her rein to her successor. Even if Serena is not a Wraith the imprint of her initiation will be clear to all Wraith that she is the chosen successor of a Queen. Upon feeling her mind they will know that she is a Queen, and as such will give her the proper respect and loyalty that is due her station." That's when McKay threw up his hands in defeat and said,

"Ok, that's it, the end of life as we know it is at hand!"


	25. Chapter 24

The New Girl

Chapter Twenty-Four

It had been five hours since Serena had gone under to receive the Wraith Queen's memories to possibly find a cure for the Wraith's feeding habits. The patch for more power from the portable generator was holding steady, the Queen was still conscious and, according to her calculations, nearing the end of the transfer. This was the best news Sheppard's team had heard all day, though Rodney was still freaking out over the whole becoming the next Queen thing. Sheppard admittedly wasn't thrilled about it either, but the most important thing at the moment was whether Serena and her baby were going to survive the transfer. Anything else could wait until they were certain they'd live through this.

Keller continued to monitor Serena, but with Todd connected to her mind she was relaxed and, as far as Keller could tell, in good condition. It wasn't long before the Queen lifted her head and said,

"It's time, the last of my memories are now hers." Todd stood up from Serena, but his mind still held hers in a relaxed state as he allowed her to see through his eyes and hear what the old Queen had to say.

"I name you as my successor and now ruler of all that has been mine. Rule with wisdom and compassion as I have, and help our people find what they need. Nestled in these memories lay the calculations and formulas to possibly cure our kind, use this knowledge wisely and share it with any and all who wish to be cured of our endless hunger." As the Queen spoke the tentacles holding Serena brought her, carefully, to a standing position. The smaller tendrils also moved out from under the skin on her forehead, and cradled her head like dozens of small fingers making sure she didn't hurt herself or fall back. Todd slowly withdrew his mind from Serena's as she began to stir. When she opened her eyes she was both shocked and amazed that she was not only alive, but that the little light inside of her was still alive and burning bright. She looked over to Todd, who bowed his head in respect of her new title. Serena then looked up at the old Queen, and she could see she was nearing the end even with the extra power from the generator.

The Queen bowed her head to Serena in respect saying,

"Do what you will, my Queen." Tears started pouring from Serena's eyes as she watched the last rise and fall of the old Queen's chest, the memories she had given her starting to come back to her. Images of friends and family lost, entire races destroyed because of her kind and the tears the Queen had shed for them. The love she felt with her mate and father of her son, who now stood next to Serena helping her to slowly analyze each memory as they went on in a continual stream from the start of her life as a Wraith to the moment she realized Serena was with child. Serena continued to cry as she watched the Queen in agony trying to slow the flow of memories to Serena to save her and her child. It was almost too much for Serena to take, having so much in her head that she knew wasn't hers, but feeling each and every event as if she'd lived them.

When it seemed that she would break down, Todd's mind held her together, helping her to discern between what was her own mind and the memories she'd been given. While it both fascinated and scared her to have so much knowledge stored in her head, she was determined to put what she now knew to good use. It was the old Queen's wish after all. As her mind steeled, pulling itself together, she looked up at Todd saying through their link,

'Let go.' He arced a brow at her and said aloud,

"Are you sure?" This got the other's attention, as Serena nodded. So, slowly Todd withdrew his mind from hers, letting her adjust accordingly before moving on and out of her thoughts completely.

Once Todd had let her go mentally, Serena opened her eyes and looked around her at everyone present. All eyes were on her and she wasn't sure if they were concerned for her or worried that she'd start bouncing off the walls like Wacky Daffy.

'Just because I have the Queen's memories doesn't mean I'm going to grow fangs and pounce on the first innocent bystander I see. Other then having a lot to think about and sort through, I don't feel any different then I was before.' she thought to herself, as she took her first steps away from the core to sit down on one of the boxes the team had brought down with them. Keller was instantly upon her like a mother hen, Serena smiled as Keller's questions started sounded vaguely like clucking to her, and she answered each one.

"Yes I feel fine...No I'm note tired...I'm a bit thirsty...No my head doesn't hurt, much...Yes I know who I am and why I'm hear, and I guess it's kind of pointless to ask you about the results of my tests hu?" Keller gave a sigh of relief saying,

"Physically she's fine, and she seems to be in complete control of the memories that were give to her, so I'd say she's mentally healthy; but you'd need a psychological evaluation to be sure."

But it seemed that Keller's assessment was enough for Sheppard and his team. However, Rodney kept giving Serena strange looks like he expected her to turn on him at any moment, as the team cleaned up and started making their way up and out. It got to the point where Serena considered growling at him to see what he would do, but decided against it seeing as he had a weapon on him and she didn't feel like becoming swiss-cheese, even though it would've been hilarious. As the entrance to the cave came into view Serena took a moment to look back the way they'd come and said a small mental thank you to the Queen and a plea to whatever God was listening that they would take good care of her.

As soon as the team made it back to camp Sheppard radioed in to tell Carter they'd found Doctor Marlo, while Keller did one more once over of her patient. Serena suspected it was more for her own peace of mind rather then to really discern whether she was alright, but she let her fuss over her thinking she'd probably have done the same in her position. Todd stayed close by through it all and sent her feelings of love and pride as Keller finished her self-assurance exam. Sheppard returned to where Serena had been seated and said,

"Did you get everything you needed." His voice held a bit of a mocking kind of humor and Serena suspected he was pissed with her, but relieved that she was alright. She nodded knowing he meant her samples, and yes, she had collected enough to begin the testing process, but now she would have to do a complete overhaul. Compare everything to the calculations the Queen had given her, and fix anything she had missed. As her mind kept going a mile a minute, Sheppard had the team pack up her research and samples so they could head out.

Todd stepped forward and asked Sheppard if he would be allowed to return to Atlantis with Serena. Sheppard looked in Serena's direction, she seemed to be lost in thought, which worried him a bit as he said,

"I think you better, cause we still don't know what having all that information in her head might do, and we'll need you there to calm her down so Keller doesn't have to use any drugs." Sheppard patted his stomach on the last part and Todd grinned as a surge of pride swept through him. John was amazed at the changes he'd seen these last few months. How Todd had started out like any other Wraith, keeping secrets and using him and his team, though he was one to talk, cause his team was pretty much doing the same thing to him. Then Serena came into the picture and everything changed. She treated Todd like an equal and in return Todd was intrigued by her, but soon intrigue turned to friendship, which soon developed into love. Sheppard had no doubts that Todd loved Serena with all his heart. A Wraith may be able to lie out their ass and have everyone around them believe it, but the one thing that always rung true with Todd were his actions. Todd started to put Serena first in his plots and schemes until there were no more lies or secrets. He was in deep, and from the looks of things he didn't want to dig himself out.

Soon everything was packed and ready to go and everyone head for the puddle jumpers, the system had a space gate about an hour flight away from the planet. So Serena made sure to pee before getting on board, and though she felt a little sickened by the motion of taking off, the rest of the ride was a cinch. Once back on Atlantis Carter demanded a full report and she got one hell of one. After Serena had told her version of the events they went around the table like musical chairs and had each person involved tell what they knew of the story from their own perspectives. At the end of it all Carter sat at the end of the table with her hand pressing at her temple, a classic sign of an on coming headache, and simply said,

"I want everyone's accounts of today's events on my desk tomorrow morning, and until we know exactly what is going on with you, Serena, I want you to take it easy."

"As long as you don't lock me up in a cage and start poking me with needles, that's fine by me." said Serena in a huff. She felt fine, but everyone had to check everything out before they were convinced, which she understood to an extent, it was just so annoying.

"There will be no locked doors and no unwarranted tests, Serena. You are free to go where ever you wish to, as always, but no work until Keller gives you the O.K." said Carter in a very stern voice, which broached no argument from Serena. A few other matters were discussed before they were dismissed including where Todd would be staying while on Atlantis. It was finally agreed that he would be allowed to remain in Serena's room, but would have a guard escort him when he visited any of the labs or the gate room. Serena wasn't happy about it, but it was better then having a guard following them everywhere they went. After they were dismissed Keller dragged her to medical to have an ultrasound and to give her a list of things she should and shouldn't eat.

"I also want you to take these twice a day." said Keller handing her a bottle of pills, saying,

"They're vitamins you'll need during your pregnancy, it'll help your body adjust to the changes and help the baby along. I also want to see you at least once a month if not twice to check and see how the baby's doing, and to check for any possible problems that may develop along the way and possible treatment options. Though I have to say I'm not sure what to expect with a half Wraith baby, but I will do my best to keep both of you healthy." Serena smiled at Keller, she was truly a kind soul, there wasn't a hurtful or cruel bone in her body. A fact that seemed to put Todd at ease as well if the feelings Serena was getting from him were anything to go by. Their connection seemed to have gotten much stronger since the transfer, thought it was odd at first, Serena had to admit it was comforting.

Keller wheeled over the ultrasound and told Serena to pull up her shirt and to lay back. Todd sat in a chair next to the examination table and watched as Keller put on a pair of gloves before taking a tube with some kind of gel in it.

"Sorry, this going to be a bit cold." Keller warned. Serena nodded and shivered slightly as the gel was applied to her lower abdomen, it warmed up after a few minutes though, and Keller began moving the camera along her belly. It wasn't long before Keller found a small blip on the screen, and on closer inspection determined that the little one was roughly about four to five weeks along, which meant Serena must have conceived while she was on Todd's Hive after the enemy Wraith attack. Todd seemed to be over following with love and pride as he stared at the grainy screen. Serena took his hand and smiled when he placed his forehead against hers and let her feel what words could not possibly describe.


	26. Chapter 25

The New Girl

Chapter Twenty-Five

It was dark in the Queen's chambers, she was agitated and didn't want to be disturbed. She had sent may spies throughout the galaxy, infiltrated several smaller alliances and still she was no closer to finding the Wraith Commander and his little human. She hissed as she slammed her hand down on a nearby table breaking it in half, her strength having increased from her earlier feeding on several officers who had failed her just as her lieutenant had several weeks earlier. The Queen paced the length of her rooms trying to think of how they could have just disappeared. Though the alliance this Wraith commanded was small she was certain she would have found them by now, either through another alliance or nearby feeding grounds. But there had been nothing.

As the Queen paced she thought on what the Lieutenant had told her before his death about the girl who had been with the Commander. The style of her clothes the way she held herself and acted around, not just the Commander, but the Queen's officers as well.

'Such arrogance would have been well suited to the Ancients.' the Queen stopped her pacing at the thought and slowly she began mulling it around in her head. The girl's behavior, her cloths, her iron will against her Lieutenant's probing. Indeed, she was very much like an Ancient, but they had fled the Pegasus galaxy long ago, burying Atlantis far beneath the seas of their home world.

"It's simply not possible!" the Queen hissed to herself, but she had heard the rumors. The whispers among both the Humans and Wraith about Atlantis being reclaimed, and the decedents of the Wraith's age old enemy traveling through out the galaxy.

It was then that the Queen hit upon a radical idea. If this girl was indeed one of the... new Atlantians, and they really were working with this Wraith Commander to find a cure for the Wraith. Then the Queen would just have to find a way to ally herself with this group, if not just to steal the cure once it was completed, then to destroy Atlantis and its people once and for all. As for the traitorous Commander, the Queen would take great pleasure in feeding from him slowly after he had watched his little human whore die at the hands of her men. The only problem was in finding them, but that soon became irrelevant as an officer dared her wrath by knocking on her door saying,

"My Queen, we've found them!"

...(On Atlantis)...

Serena bustled about her lab as pieces of memories and research started coming back to her in a steady flow. Though Todd's mother had almost overwhelmed her with information, she had been kind enough to at least put everything in chronological order. That combined with Serena's mind slowly processing each bit of information, it made for the perfect state of mind to be working on the cure. At least in Serena's opinion, which didn't seem to count for much as the weeks rolled on. Though her research was important, everyone, Todd included, believed that her health was of more concern then saving the galaxy. And it was starting to get down right annoying, the constant tests from Keller to make sure she wasn't turning into a Wraith as well as checking on the health of her baby. Rodney's insistence that she should be taken off the project until she had processed all the information the Queen had given her. And worst of all, Sheppard and Todd's constant bickering over weather it was even safe for her to be on Atlantis if she was indeed becoming a Wraith.

It was enough to make Serena scream, she wasn't turning into a Wraith! Though she had to admit after the transfer she had noticed small changes. Like her senses were heightened, her mind was more adapt at reaching out to Todd's, in fact anyone's if she really tried, and she had started eating more frequently, almost constantly; but that was more due to her pregnancy then anything else, she suspected. She had not, however, developed a keen sense of superiority, a appetite for human essences, or any other psychological or physical attributes of the Wraith. Oh Rodney's list was almost endless on what she be looking out for when it came to how she might change after the transfer. Quite frankly, Serena found it ridicules.

She had work to do and this whole business of making sure she was still human was only slowing her down. However, she was now alone in her lab, and she was thrilled to be left to her own devices for more then a few hours to work on both remembering research from the transfer and linking said research to her own findings. As she went about her business writing things down and testing out theories that came into her head, Serena wondered what the child growing inside her would look like. It was to early to tell whether it was a boy or girl, but Serena could already feel it's small mind and body growing, slowly but steadily within her. Even if she couldn't yet feel it physically, her mind and that of her unborn child were linked. She knew when it was hungry, thirsty, and when she needed to take a rest for it's sake. It was almost like it was already here. Todd had even expressed his enthusiasm at being able to hear his child growing. It was all very new to Serena, but she pushed forward into the unknown, hoping that the answers to the cure were just around the corner.

After another couple hours of sorting through the memories given to her and correcting her own research, Serena's stomach growled from being ignored for too long. So with a tired sigh, Serena made her way to the mess hall. She knew that she needed to get some sleep, but she had been on a roll and already had found answers to many of the questions she'd had about the Wraith. Though deep down she knew that over working herself wasn't good for either herself or the baby, she wanted to give Todd and the baby a chance to be able to live a normal life rather then taking them. This meant that Serena had to find the one thing that was missing from the formula, the key element that would allow the Wraith to survive without feeding on others.

Serena yawned as she picked out what she wanted from the mess hall and sat down in a small sitting area away from everyone else to eat in peace. Her mind still going over all the data she had remembered thus far while she went through the motions of feeding herself as if she were on autopilot. Then, just as she was about to take another bite someone stopped her fork from reaching her mouth. At first it didn't register that someone was holding her wrist preventing her from bringing her fork up to her mouth, but then she heard Todd's deep double toned voice say,

"If you eat that it will cause some very serious indigestion unless humans are able to stomach plastic." Serena blinked her eyes tiredly at him wondering what he was talking about, then she looked at her fork. Apparently she had eaten everything on her plate, and hadn't realized she'd scooped up the plastic covering from her silver wear at the edge of the plate thinking it was edible.

Todd took the plastic utensil and the rest of the plater to a near by garbage can and then returned to Serena's side as she yawned again. Even though he was very eager to find a cure, Todd didn't want Serena working herself to the bone. She needed rest, her mind and body demanded it, and not just for her sake, but the baby's as well. So in one swift motion Todd swept Serena up into his arms and started walking down the many hall ways and passages of Atlantis to their rooms. He had only been walking for a few minutes when Serena passed out against his chest, making him cures himself for having to leave Atlantis. Serena had been badgered by everyone to take things slow, but Todd knew she wouldn't listen. So when he had been called back to see to his men he had been concerned that she would push herself too hard, and sadly he had been right. Though why Sheppard and the others had allowed this to happen he didn't know, but he planned to find out as he entered his and Serena's quarters.

After helping Serena into a night gown and putting her to bed, Todd made his way to Colonel Carter's office to find out what exactly had been going on since he left. This left Serena, once more, on her own with her mind drifting into dreams. But in her dreams she found no peace or rest, for as she slept she felt something was coming closer to Atlantis. Something with malicious intent and contempt for all in the city and beyond it. Though she could not see what or who it was, Serena knew they would be on them soon. She had to get up, she had to warn Todd and Sheppard, but her body felt like it was made of lead, and no matter how loud she screamed no one could hear her. Darkness was creeping in around her and with it came the overwhelming sense of fear and dread. They were all going to die.

Todd entered Carter's office without knocking, not that Todd had ever really developed the habit of doing so, being so used to others sensing his presence. The Colonel looked up from her reports with a look of surprise which was reflected in her voice when she spoke,

"Todd, what are you doing here, I would have thought you would be with Serena as soon as you got back?" The Wraith showed no emotion as he stood in front of Carter's desk, only his eyes gave any indication the he was agitated. However, he wouldn't let his mood get the better of him. So he nodded his head in acknowledgment saying,

"Indeed, but when I found her she was exhausted having spent a great amount of her time working on the cure. Dr. Keller has told me that she shouldn't overexert herself, for she may cause harm to both herself and our child. I thought until further notice you had told her to refrain from working on the cure, why then has she been allowed to do so?" Todd could feel his anger rising, but did his best to hold it back until he had heard what the Colonel had to say for herself.

To say that Carter was surprised would have been a gross understatement, she had indeed told Serena to take a break from working on the cure until they all had a better sense of what the memory transfer had done to her. But Serena was a very stubborn woman, and would go so far as to put herself in mortal danger if she felt it was the right thing to do. Even so, Carter had hoped that the pregnancy would have caused Serena to think on what she could and couldn't do in relation to her work load. Either way it seemed that Serena had once again over done it, and no doubt Carter would have to up the security on her to make sure this didn't happen again. Carter was about to relay her idea to the Wraith when the alarms went off. Todd stepped away from the door just in time for an officer from the control room to run in past him saying,

"Colonel, we have an unknown Hive approaching the system, and they seem to be heading right for us."


	27. Chapter 26

The New Girl

Chapter Twenty-Six

Everyone stood in the control room holding their breath. The cloak over the city had been activated, yet even so, the inhabitance couldn't help but wait on baited breath to see if they would be discovered. If so they would have very little time to disengage the cloak and activate the shield, the whole process taking close to three minutes to accomplish on a good day. The Hive was closing in quickly and soon would be orbiting right over their heads, though the Hive couldn't see them it didn't mean they couldn't do some damage. Even if someone was shooting blindly in the dark, there was always the chance they'd get in a lucky shot. And if a shot got through to the city without the shield up to protect them the results would be devastating.

Colonel Carter knew this, as did everyone on Atlantis, but if there was even a chance that they could keep their location a secret Carter would take it. Besides the Hive hadn't made any move to put up its shields, or charge its weapons. It hadn't even bothered to scan anything as it stayed its corse, headed straight for Atlantis.

"How far out are they?" asked Carter. Zelenka looked up from his screen saying,

"They're just about to achieve a somewhat distant orbit over use." Sheppard looked over to Todd saying,

"Friends of yours?" The Wraith shook his head as he said,

"All my ships are accounted for and awaiting the cure on the planet you gave us." John crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against one of the control panels in a manner that would have seemed relaxed to anyone who didn't know him. He stared at Zelenka's screen in confusion and concern and said,

"Then what are they doing out here?"

As if to answer his question the communications officer piped in then saying,

"Sir, we are receiving a video message from the Hive... it seems to be from their Queen." Carter looked at Sheppard then Todd and said,

"They seem to already know we're here." Ronan already had his gun out and poised at Todd's head, but John told him to stand down. Todd's face held a look of both shock and interest and Sheppard knew that he was just as surprised as the rest of them. Carter looked from Todd to Sheppard trying to figure out what to do next.

"Answer her." said Todd looking straight at her. Rodney spoke up then saying,

"Are you insane?! If we respond they'll know exactly where we are!"

"They already know we're here Rodney. If we don't answer them and they decide to attack it'll only be a matter of time before they get in a lucky shot." Sheppard countered as he turned to Carter and went on.

"Either way it's our move." Everyone was silent, waiting for the Colonel's word.

Carter weighed her options. Could it be another alliance had found out about their work on the cure, and wished to be among the first of those to receive it? Or were they here merely to confirm that Atlantis was here, and if so did they intend to relay this to their alliance? Did they even belong to an alliance? All these question were swirling in Carter's head, but she wasn't going to get any answers just by staring at the small blip on Zelenka's screen. She turned to the communications officer as said,

"Video on screen and open a channel." The officer nodded and activated the communicator and pointed to Carter, signaling she was on. Carter took a deep cleansing breath as she looked at the main screen, which now displayed the bridge of a Hive with a dark haired Queen standing in front of the helm. The Colonel steeled herself and said,

"This is Colonel Carter, please identify yourself."

(The Hive Ship over Atlantis)...

The Queen stared out at the small backwater planet her ship was now orbiting and scoffed in slight disgust at the thought of Atlantis being just below. Though she was very grateful to know which world the city was on, the fact that it was cloaked made her more then a bit agitated. Not that she had expected any less from a civilization well known for it's advancements as well as it's people's arrogance.

'Hiding in plain sight, how typical.' she thought as her officers hailed the city for the third time.

"This is Colonel Carter, please identify yourself." The communications officer turned to face his Queen. She nodded to him and faced the frontal screen with the blond female displayed along with what appeared to be an Atlantian control room, and said,

"I have come to speak with the one who ames to cure us." There was silence for a few moments. Then the human nodded to someone off screen and stepped aside as a tall Wraith came to stand in front of the screen, and said in the deep double toned voice of one of her kind,

"I am the one you seek, what is it you wish, great Queen?" The Queen smiled to herself and said,

"To join your cause, Commander. There are too many of us now in the galaxy and too few humans to feed our numbers, especially now that the Replicators have destroyed several worlds we once culled."

She paused wondering if the Commander would believe her, but shook off her worries, knowing that he wouldn't have much of a choice. For she now knew where Atlantis was, or at least the world it resided on. Even if they managed to destroy her ship, her officers had their location locked and ready to be transmitted to the rest of her alliance at a moments notice. So she went on saying,

"Our supply stores are running low, and several officers have already been killed, for the hunger was too much for them." The Queen looked pleadingly at the Commander and said,

"We need your help." The Commander seemed to think it over and then looked back to the human she had first spoken too. The Queen scoffed to herself, thinking,

'Of course he would have to ask for their permission.' After a few moments he turned back to her and said,

"We shall meet with you to discuss the terms for your stay, and what access you shall have to the cure if and when it is discovered." The Queen nodded to the Commander saying that she eagerly awaited their arrival to a neutral location to discuss what was to be done. The Commander nodded and the transmission ended.

The communications officer turned to his Queen and relayed where they were headed for the meeting with the Commander.

'And his Atlantian handlers.' she thought to herself as she nodded to the officer and left the bridge. As she headed down the halls of her Hive the Queen couldn't help but think back on how she had come to rule over one of the largest alliances of Wraith Hives in the galaxy. Seeing one of her own kind grovel at the Atlantian's feet made her blood boil and stirred her mind back to a time when she had been at the beck and call of her predecessor. It had been a hard and humiliating time for her, and in fact it was for every Queen when they were being trained to take over the rule of a Hive. But, to allow the greatest enemy of the Wraith to rule over what she was to do or not do? It very nearly made her physically ill.

However, the Queen allowed her mind to wonder back on those days when she had to serve her Queen. All Queens were subjected to a very strict regiment of training, which included being in a position of submission to others. This was to instill each Queen with a deep seeded hatred of being subjugated, there in making them very proud and willful. A Queen was never looked down upon, she was the one who looked down on you, and only your obedience and loyalty dictated whether she looked on you with respect or displeasure. In her days as a young one, the Queen remembered how she was punished for failures, forced to do some of the worst jobs one can be assigned on a Hive, and even those who lived their lives working on the engines, or disposing of waists looked down on her. The feel of their eyes on her burned, like a hot iron brand saying she had failed yet again. She had sworn then, and she swore again now that she would never allow another to rule over her.

She made her way to the thrown room and smiled as she took her seat on the thrown at the front of the room atop the dais. The previous Queen had been sitting in that very spot when she had been struck down by her underling. The Queen smiled as she remembered the look on her predecessor's face when she had plunged a knife into her back, the only way for leadership to switch hands, and the successor to assume the throne. For a Queen to become so careless to allow herself to be killed by her own brood was disgraceful, and as for the one who killed her, she was christened as the knew Queen. Strange as it may appear to any other race, the game of Wraith royalty was one of power, if you have the strength to get what you want then take it. No one disputed her right to the throne after she had killed the previous Queen, and now she ruled over hundreds others. Satisfied both in her thoughts and her plans the Queen leaned back in her throne, patiently waiting for when her officers would come to tell her when they had arrived at the appointed place.

(Back on Atlantis)...

Todd hurried down the halls headed for Serena's room, though he intended to go with Sheppard and the other's to negotiate with this new Queen, he didn't want to leave without first checking on his mate. Serena had been in sad shape when he had put her to bed and from the emotions and slight panic he felt coming off her now, sleep hadn't help her to improve. He almost pushed through the doors leading to her room when she sat straight up with a gasp and reached for him in desperation. Todd didn't hesitate to pull her into his arms and trill deeply in his throat to try and calm her and the child she carried down. She needed rest and even though she had slept for an hour it hadn't been either peaceful or restful. Why, Todd had no idea, but as Serena pulled back to look at him he felt her thoughts and the memories of her dreams enter his mind along with her worry about what they could mean. It was at this point that Todd sighed, and said,

"You felt the Hive and its Queen." At first Serena was confused and then he explained what had happened after he had left her to sleep, and what they planned to do.

Serena was soon gripping Todd to her saying,

"Don't go, don't do this! She's hiding something! We can't trust her!" Todd shook his head and said,

"I know we can't trust her, but what of those under her command, what if they wish to be cured? I will bring up these concerns to Colonel Carter and Sheppard, but I believe if we keep a close watch on her and allow her officers the chance to coexist with mine, we might have a chance at forming an alliance that could allow for a greater number of Wraith to be cured."

"But at what cost? If something should go wrong, if she gets the upper hand, it could end badly for everyone." said Serena as she interlaced her fingers with Todd's over her belly. Todd smiled and kissed her forehead saying,

"If we are being deceived we will know soon enough. In the meantime her ship will be placed on a world not far from mine, but enough that both my ships and Atlantis will have warning should she turn on us. If she will not agree to our terms she will be turned away, or destroyed and we will move both Atlantis and my alliance just to be safe. Is that agreeable to you?" She rolled her eyes saying,

"As if I have a choice! You all have already decided, but don't come crying to me when it all goes to shit, cause I'll just say 'I told you so'." Todd laughed and kissed her gently on the lips as she pouted saying,

"I'll be sure remember that." Serena looked up at him and said,

"How long do you have before you have to go?" Todd shrugged saying,

"About an hour or so." Serena pulled him to lay down next to her and said,

"Then stay with us for a while, I really don't get much sleep when your not around."

"You don't get any sleep when I'm not around." Todd corrected, to which he only got a stuck out tongue for a response.


	28. Chapter 27

The New Girl

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sheppard stood next to Ronan as Todd and Colonel Carter sat with the Wraith Queen under a grove of large trees. They had been talking for nearly an hour and Sheppard was board, but he knew things like this took time, and needed to be looked at from every angle possible. After all, if this all went to hell, they wanted to at least have a backup plan in place so as not to be caught with their preverbal pants down. The planet they had chosen for the meeting was very much like the one Todd's alliance inhabited. Remote and life sustaining, with plenty of animals and vegetation though no intelligent life-forms other then the Queen's envoy and the Atlantis team. Though depending on how this meeting went, there might be a new alliance of Wraith making this world their temporary home.

Todd didn't like it, he could feel that the Queen was hiding something from them, he just couldn't figure out what. Though she was willing to adhere to Carter's rules and in all outward appearance seemed concerned for her soldiers, Todd couldn't shake how her mind seemed to mock him in its ability to block his subtle probing. Even so Carter went on with negotiations, saying,

"So you are willing to remain here on this world and wait for the cure, and follow our instructions when it comes to taking blood samples from you and your men?" The Queen nodded saying,

"I am, though I must allow some of my ships to be able to come and go as needed, seeing as how our feeding stores are getting very low. As I have mentioned before, several officers have already been put down due to their inability to stave off their hunger, we've stretched our stores too far as it is." Todd stepped in then and said,

"Would you be willing to allow someone to look your feeding stores over and assess..."

"Whether I'm telling the truth?" the Queen interrupted, her eyes glaring at Todd accusingly. Carter spoke up then, saying,

"Only a precaution, to be sure that your stores are low, and if so what can be done to replenish them. But only if it's absolutely necessary for you and your men to survive. Are we agreed?"

It was a moment or two before the Queen nodded her head in acceptance of this, which effectively ended the meeting except for a few miner details. The Queen was to have herself and her alliance give Atlantis blood samples over the next few days. Then depending on how things progressed, and if the Queen's alliance followed the rules, then she might be allowed access to the research for the cure that has been accumulated thus far. Though both Todd and Carter felt it would be best to keep the research under wraps until they were sure of what this Queen's true motives were, the Queen had been very adamant in requesting access to the research in return for all her cooperation. So Carter relented, but it was agreed the Queen would only receive the research a bit at a time, enough to meet the bargain, but not enough for the Queen to make off with. All in all a seemingly reasonable arrangement, and by the end of it all, hopefully, more lives would be saved with the more Wraiths they cured.

Once Todd and the other's were on board the Jumper headed back to Atlantis Carter relaid the meeting and the outcome to Sheppard, who proceeded to try and talk his commander out of sharing Serena's research. But Carter remained resolved to keep her end of the bargain, saying,

"It's not like we'll be giving them everything, John." Sheppard growled saying,

"No but you know she'll have her own scientists looking the notes over, who knows she might even come up with the cure before us, especially with Serena's new and improved theories since the memory transfer." This was Todd's worry as well. If they went ahead with this and allowed the Queen access to Serena's new notes, even if it was just a bit at a time, they may come up with a cure before she did. Todd was about to voice his agreement with Sheppard when Carter spoke, saying,

"Who says we're going to give her Serena's new notes?" Both Todd and Sheppard stared at Carter for a moment, and then Todd grinned as Sheppard said,

"Wait! You mean to give them her old notes instead. Was this the plan from the beginning?!" It was at that point that Todd laughed, saying,

"It is like I said when we first met Sheppard...you are more like us then you know." It was John's turn to smile as he turned back to Carter saying,

"Nice one Colonel. Only thing is, will they catch on that we've sent them useless notes?" Todd smiled as he looked at Carter with a new found respect as he answered, saying,

"The notes aren't completely useless, but they are incomplete. Without the new information Serena received from my...Queen, this new alliance won't be able to make a viable cure without certain side effects. As you have already seen and experienced with Michael."

Sheppard considered this as the Jumper approached the space gate that would lead them home. Soon the gate was open and the I.D.C. was sent through to let Atlantis know it was them so they could lower the shield to let them through. They received the ok to head through, and were soon through the gate and moving up to the Jumper docks. As soon as the Jumper door opened Todd was out and on his way to Serena's lab to check on her, while Sheppard remained behind to continue discussing their new guests and what precautions should be taken to warn them if the Queen decided to attack. Todd moved through the halls quickly. He wasn't sure why he was so anxious, but he knew he'd feel better once he found Serena and held her for a while. Just as this thought went through his head Todd stopped mid-stride thinking to himself,

'When did I start needing her to calm my mind?' But deep down he knew that he had started needing her presence to ease his thoughts long before he had even realized he had deeper feeling for her. Serena had wormed her way into his heart, and now there was no getting rid of her. Not that he wanted her gone, quite the opposite in fact, especially now that she was carrying his child. He started walking again as his mind wondered to how she would start to look in the coming months, round with child and glowing with love and pride as she listened to their child's thoughts and emotions. It was enough to make him purr under his breath as he finally made it to Serena's lab and entered to find the object of his desire sitting at her desk, back to him, looking into a microscope.

Todd just stood in the doorway watching her work for a few minutes admiring how she was starting to show slightly. Keller had told him that she would really start to show in her second trimester, which she had just started a few days ago. He remembered the doctor's words, saying,

"Now she'll be starting to fill out and gain more weight, which means she'll be achey here and there, her ankles may swell a bit, and her lower back will be tender, but it's all completely normal." Todd also recalled Keller's suggestion of messaging Serena to help rid her of the aches and to help with the swelling. He rather liked the idea of helping Serena through out her pregnancy, and not just with her aching body. Their minds were so intimately connected in a way that Todd had yet to understand, but in many ways he didn't care how it was that they were able to feel each other so clearly and intimately. He was able to calm her mind and touch her emotionally, as well as give and receive reassurance on the inner most levels of their psyche. It filled him with wonder and pride that their bond was so strong and unmatched by any other that either knew of.

As he stood there reveling in the feelings that he could sense from Serena, she straightened slightly as if just realizing something. It was then that she said while still facing her desk,

"Well are you going to come in, or are you just going to stand in the doorway staring at me? Cause if you have nothing better to do then that, I can think of a few things for you to do." Todd couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face as he pushed away from the door frame and walked over to Serena. She was looking through her microscope again, seeming to ignore his presence entirely when she moved over to jot down some notes. Though he knew she was engrossed in what she was doing, Todd didn't take to being ignored, and before Serena had the chance to return to gazing through her microscope Todd covered the eye piece with his hand. When Serena turned back to find a hand in her way she looked up to say she had work to do, but was silenced by Todd's lips. He kissed her slowly and passionately, putting every thought and emotion he had for her through their link, making Serena groan into his mouth in response.

The sound of someone clearing their throat was what brought an end to the lover's embrace. They both turned to find McKay standing in the doorway looking very uncomfortable and even a bit ill. Serena couldn't help the small giggle, which she tried to hide in Todd's shoulder, but the vibration from her laugh caused him to make a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a growl. This only served to make Rodney more nervous as he said in a shaky voice,

"Um...Carter wants to a...see you two... in command." The look on Todd's face made Rodney want to run for the hills. Sufficed to say, Todd wasn't happy about being interrupted for such a simple thing, but Serena tried to sooth it over by running her fingers over his spine. Instantly Todd's eyes rolled back in his head as he took a deep shuddering breath, while Serena motioned for McKay to beat it, saying,

"We'll be there in a bit." Rodney nodded and booked it as fast as he could out the door and down the hall before Todd could come back to himself.

Serena shivered as Todd growled into her shoulder, his sharp teeth grazing against the skin while his hands tightened around her waist. In the back of her head Serena knew they didn't have time for this, but it felt so good, and they hadn't had any real time together since he had returned from checking on his own alliance. Todd moved them so she was laying back on an empty part of her desk, while he continued to move above her, his desire pressing solidly against her. She could feel his ache just as acutely as if it were her own, but she rained in her desire and said,

"We have to go, or soon Sheppard will be banging the door down." Todd just growled in response, actually digging his teeth into her skin slightly saying through their link,

'Let him come.' Serena laughed, which soon turned into a groan as Todd sucked on the wound he had made. She was loosing her concentration and Todd wasn't cooperating. Finally She managed to pry his mouth off of her neck saying,

"We really need to go, this may be important." Todd sighed and moved back to allow Serena off her desk. She straightened herself up a bit and then walked out the door with a grumbling Wraith Commander in tow.

Carter was in her office along with Sheppard when they finally made it to command. Sheppard gave them both a disapproving look before heading out, which meant he and Colonel Carter had already heard of Rodney's latest escape from Todd's wrath. Though to be fair he hadn't knocked before barging into Serena's lab like he owned the place. However, that wasn't the reason Carter had called them to her office. The Colonel was sitting at her desk when they entered, but she soon rose and moved to stand in front of the desk as she spoke, saying,

"I'm assuming that Todd has yet to tell you about the outcome of our negotiations with this new Queen and her alliance?" Serena looked up at Todd, but he answer was directed at the Colonel as she said,

"No he hasn't, but then again he had something else on his mind." Carter grinned slightly, and then sighed saying,

"Yes, so I've heard. In any case, I wanted to talk to you about one of the terms of the agreement we have made with the Queen. She wishes to have access to your notes while you are trying to come up with a cure, so that if there are any discrepancies in your research she might be able to help you correct them, as she put it." Before Serena had the chance to voice her outrage Carter cut in saying,

"We aren't going to be giving her your redone notes since the memory transfer, just the ones you had before that, and only in small chunks at a time. Hopefully these will keep her busy, thinking she has the real thing, long enough for us to discern whether her motives are what she says they are." Serena calmed slightly as she listened and thought it through. Even if they thought they had the cure and made a serum of their own, without her newly advanced notes they would suffer side effects very similar to Michael's, if not worse. But, she also saw how this could be the best way to keep the Queen busy until they knew what she was really after. So Serena nodded saying,

"Alright, I'll make copies of my old notes and have them to you by tomorrow morning." Cater looked up at Todd and smiled at his expression saying,

"Oh there's no need to rush, why don't you get them to me sometime in the next couple of days. After all it's been awhile since you've had a break, and I'm told you shouldn't be working too hard in your present condition. Take some time off." The last bit was said as an order and when Serena looked up at Todd she realized she wasn't going to be getting out of this one.


	29. Chapter 28

The New Girl

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Todd had tried to go easy on her, but Serena had bit, clawed and begged for him to give her more. And in all honesty Todd hadn't been one to deny his lover what they wanted, though he was far more attentive, making sure not to push her too far that their child would be in danger. Still when Serena woke up the next day she was soar, sure she liked it and reveled in the knowledge that Todd had given into her desires, but at the same time it was going to make her day difficult. So very carefully she untangled herself from a still sleeping Todd and tip-toed to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. The clock told her it was past noon already, and even if Carter had told her to take time off she still wanted to get her old notes copied and sent off before she did anything else.

She was in the middle of rinsing her hair from its second wash when she felt two strong arms encircle her waist. Todd slid in under the hot stream of water pulling Serena flush against him. His mind was open and his body calm as he ran his hands over her belly, feeling their child, its mind and body just as calm as his. It was all Serena could do to keep herself from falling asleep in the shower as her mind followed theirs. Todd's arms held her up until she came back to herself, at which time she cursed him in her mind playfully while she helped him to get clean. Once they were both dressed Serena decided to head to her lab to get her notes. Todd, however, wouldn't have it and instead of walking her to the lab steered her to the mess-hall. Serena grumbled under her breath saying,

"I need to get those notes copied and sent to Colonel Carter."

"But you also need to eat, and rest. Colonel Carter told you the notes could wait, and to take some time for yourself. Besides I can feel how hungry you both are." said Todd, rubbing Serena's belly to emphasize his last point.

Serena sighed, but relented as she smelled bacon, eggs, Belgian waffles and fresh coffee. She filled her plate, then got a glass of milk and was about to get herself a cup of coffee when Todd stopped her, saying,

"Keller said decaf if you still wish to drink coffee." In a huff Serena did as instructed and poured herself a cup of decaf before heading to a nearby sitting area. The chairs were far more comfortable then in the mess-hall, and easier on her back and legs. Todd sat with her in silence watching as she ate thinking of how wonderful it would be to join her. Though he could technically eat like she could, his body took no substance from it, no nourishment. That was what he longed for, to be able to sit and eat with her, to become full and satisfied with her. It may seem strange to any other being, but to him it would draw them even closer then they already were. In his mind he could feel their child getting stronger, growing bigger everyday as she woke, worked, ate and slept. He just hoped to whatever Gods were listening that his child wouldn't inherit his ability to feed on humans, humans like its mother. He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts before Serena caught on, and just watched her as she finished her eggs and dug into the waffles.

Though Todd had Serena on a tight leash on what she was and was not allowed to do, he did allow her to retrieve her notes from her lab under the condition that she take time to just relax and not worry about getting them copied. This proved to be more difficult then she had anticipated, cause though Serena loved that she had so much time to spend with Todd, she couldn't help that little nagging at the back of her head. Those notes needed to get done, and Serena found she just couldn't ignore them. So with Todd's help they sat on the bed in their room and began the slow and tedious task of copying her note together. Even if it wasn't the kind of time Todd was hoping to spend with Serena, he still found himself relaxing into the motions of copying. Stopping every once in a while to look over at Serena and feel out whether she was getting tired, or hungry yet. After about two hours worth of work, the notes were done and Serena wanted to drop them by Carter's office on the way to the mess-hall. Todd took the notes from her saying,

"You go and eat, I will deliver the notes to Colonel Carter." Serena was about to protest, but the look she got from Todd left no room for argument. So she relented and headed down the hallway to get something to eat knowing Todd would meet up with her at the mess-hall as soon as he was done.

As Serena sat with her lunch just munching rather then really eating it, she thought on this new Queen that they hoped to form an alliance with. Though Carter wanted to cure as many Wraith as possible so as to help the human peoples throughout the Pegasus Galaxy, Serena was very wary of the new Queen. True everyone was suspicious of her true intentions, but that didn't seem to stop them from inviting her to join their cause. Although she and her men were told to remain on a world a ways away from Atlantis, Serena could still feel that prickling at the back of her mind. Like someone was constantly at the back door trying to peek in past the curtains, but never seeming to get a clear view of what was inside. She hated that feeling, and no matter what she did, Serena couldn't seem to get rid of that presence. Serena was so focused on that feeling in her mind that she didn't notice Todd come in and sit next to her at their usual spot in the sitting area.

When Todd sat down he noted how distracted she was and gently touched her arm to let Serena know he was there. This startled her slightly, but once she looked up into his eyes she smiled saying,

"Hey, how'd it go with Colonel Carter?" Todd tilted his head slightly at her question. She knew he had only been delivering her notes, why would it have gone badly? Then he gently probed her mind, glancing over her feelings of worry and that nagging at the back of her brain. It was at this point that he became concerned, and said,

"How long have been able to feel her from this distance?" At first Serena looked confused, but after a moment she hung her head as if she were a child telling its parent an embarrassing secret, saying,

"Since yesterday afternoon. It's just a constant feeling of eyes on me, though they can't seem to see much. God! it's so hard to describe." Todd smiled slightly saying,

"You don't need to, I can feel it too, though I'm surprised she has focused in on you too."

Serena stood up and walked over to Todd, who opened his arms for her to sit on his lap. She leaned completely against him, letting her body sink into his along with her mind. Though Todd knew she liked to have her thoughts to herself, Serena couldn't deny that being able to share one's feelings and thoughts in the way they could was refreshing. Not only did they understand each other on a deeper level, but it made it so much easier to handle their relationship knowing what the other was thinking and feeling. However, now they had another mind in on their privet little conference, and Serena smiled as she felt the small and slightly timid poke of their child's mind. Todd could feel Serena's smile and their child's subtle prodding and gently, but firmly pushed it back so as not to let on the seriousness of the situation and cause the fetus any undo stress. Serena looked up at him confused at first, but as he spoke in her mind, Todd's concerns became quite clear.

'This Queen is searching for something other then the cure, though for what I am not sure. Until I know what it is she seeks I want you to practice closing off your mind, even from me.' He quieted her before she could protest saying aloud,

"Just until I know what's going on. It would be best that we keep her as in the dark as possible until we are certain she can be trusted."

That statement had Serena wrinkling her nose saying,

"I don't trust her period. What are we even doing letting her in on the cure, if and when we find it? For all we know she could just waiting for the right moment to destroy Atlantis so she can make a name for herself. Plus if she has the cure, her soldiers won't need to fight the other alliances for food, they could just annihilate them until hers is the only faction left. Then what?! An age of being ruled by a race of Wraith who no longer need to feed, but need our resources to keep them strong. Oh yes that sounds a heap of a lot better!" Todd couldn't help the smile on his face as she went on and on, but finally he pulled her to him tight, letting his calm mind flow over hers saying,

"I am well aware of the dangers that could be had from letting her become our ally, my Serena. But, if you remember, we had little choice in the matter. The only thing that remains now is finding out how she came to know of our location and what her true motives are." Serena huffed in slight irritation as Todd went on,

"In any case, let's not worry about such things now. Let us enjoy the time we have together before I must return to my men." The last bit was said as he rubbed his hand along her slightly swollen belly. Serena giggle saying,

"And how do you know it'll be a boy, for all you know it could just as easily be a girl." Todd smiled and place both of his palms on her womb saying,

"Whether male or female, this child is a part of both of us, and therefor will be my pride and joy." With those words the two of them sat in complete silence, not a word needed to be spoken mentally or otherwise. It was just the three of them in that sitting area. The cares and worries of their everyday lives could wait, so long as they stayed in each other's arms.

The rest of the day pasted by lazily, yet both Todd and Serena felt it was over too soon. Though they knew they had an other day or two before Todd needed to head back to his men, and Serena back to her lab. They felt that it just wasn't enough time, and Serena was beginning to feeling like they would never have enough time to spend together. Even if they had their disagreements and trials along the way, Serena still felt she would never get enough of Todd. She's miss him when he was gone, love him while he was close, laugh when he failed to understand human nuance, and get pissed at him when he got overly protective. Yep, it was official. They were in this for the long haul, and there was on one and nothing that could tear them apart, at least none that Serena could see.


	30. Chapter 29

The New Girl

Chapter Twenty-Nine

A week passed without incident, the Queen kept her word and only allowed a few of her men to leave when her alliance needed direction. The terms of the agreement she held with Atlantis where that she would only have up to three ships at a time on the world they had given her, for the amount of ships she commanded was somewhere in the hundreds. Even with the number of Wraith on those ships being down to only a few hundred per, due to recent battles, the sheer amount of men would rang in the thousands. To many, even for the Queen to handle at one time. It was actually the Queen's suggestion to only allow three Hives to inhabit the planet at a time. During this time all three Hives are expected to give blood samples of all their commanding officers, and once this is done the Hives are replaced with the next three in her alliance.

Within the first few days of the last week the ships had changed out with the next group, ready to give their blood in the hopes of finding a cure. It was at this point that Serena wanted to be there to take samples herself, and get a feel for the new alliance that had supposedly joined their cause. Of course both Colonel Carter and Todd were against it, not to mention Sheppard and his team, but Serena was stubborn, saying,

"What could possibly happen when you have not only military teams on the planet but two large Aurora class ships in the air ready to nuke the entire sight if necessary?! Besides this is my project, so it will be done my way, and my way includes getting to know the people I will be working with." It was at that point Sheppard made a comment about how it would be virtually impossible to get to know all of the commanding soldiers they were taking samples from. To which Serena calmly replied,

"John, if you want to know the mind of the soldier, know the mind of their commander. The Queen will be the one calling all of the shots regardless of what deal we've made with her. She has her own agenda and I intend to find out what it is." Todd touched her arm then saying,

"Your mind is no match for a Queen who has had years of training and experience using her mind to control her men. She'll see right through you if you attempt to breach her mental walls, and then you will be completely defenseless. Every memory and thought will be available to her, even if you put up a fight, she'll wear down your mental blocks until they break." Serena looked up at Todd and smiled as she said,

"But you told me I was doing so well." He was about to respond when she placed a hand on his lips saying,

"Don't worry, I wasn't talking about trying to pry into her head. Like you said that would be a sure way of getting caught with my preverbal pants down. No, I intend to watch her, talk with her, and maybe share some information from my old notes that we haven't given to her yet. See how she responds, gage her actions and reactions to a few small conversational pokes." Todd was about to object, but she cut him off again saying,

"I'll keep my mind closed at all times like you taught me, and if something should happen there are soldiers everywhere. All I have to do is scream, or make some signal that I'm in distress." She looked up at Todd, an almost pleading look in her eyes.

Todd stared at Serena for a long while, hoping that she would change her mind, but he knew better then to think she would back down just because there were risks. He just wished that she would find some other way to get what she needed that didn't involve putting herself in these positions, especially now that she was three months pregnant. Every time he touched her now, he cold sense his child's mind growing, feel their heart beating and their blood flowing. It would kill him if anything were to happen to them, but he also knew that in a way Serena was right. There wasn't much the Queen could do with such a large military presence on the planet willing to kill her and every last one of her men should they make the wrong move. Even so, she still had a couple hundred ships under her command, and if they managed to kill her and those on the planet. Who's to say those other ships won't come looking for their Queen, when she fails to return to them? It was all just a large jumble of questions, what ifs, and risks. In the end, however, it all boiled down to one thing. The Queen was keeping something from them, that much was certain. Whether or not it was a threat to them was yet to be discovered, and if Serena was truly convinced that she could shed some light on this mystery, then Todd knew there was very little point in arguing with her.

So the next day found Serena on a jumper accompanied by Todd, as well as Sheppard and his team to oversee operations on the planet, and to check in with the Queen with the latest update of the notes Serena agreed to share. As they neared the planet Serena noted the two Aurora class ships, the Daedalus and Prometheus, in orbit. Ready to destroy the three Hives and their camp on the planet below. Serena took a deep breath to steady herself and reinforce her metal shields as the jumper made its decent down to the Wraith camp. Todd leaned in to kiss her forehead as the jumper landed. Sheppard opened the door, and everyone stepped out into the midday sun surrounded by trees and three Wraith Hives. The Hives appeared to be integrating themselves with the planet's terrain. Plants and roots seemed to be gathering around them, some seemingly growing on the lower parts of the Hives organic hull.

The Main tent, like all the others in the Wraith camp, was made of, what looked to be, a similar material to that of a Hive's hull. It seemed to be growing right out of the ground rather then having been pitched. Dome-like in shape, the inside was spacious and open with a smaller version of a throne on a small dais at the back part of the tent. Tables were set up with equipment for drawing blood, and chairs were strewn around for patients to sit while they gave their blood samples. Surgical tools were at the very end of the long tables near the Queen's throne. These were only to be used in the case of an emergency, such as a possible fire fight should it occur, or even just a klutzy soldier falling the wrong way while hiking around the perimeter, though highly unlikely. Even so, Serena watched as commanders came in and the Atlantis medical teams got to work getting them prepped, drawing the blood, labeling the sample, and storing them in coolers to be sent back to her lab on Atlantis. Everything was running like clockwork, but the Queen was nowhere in sight. Not in the tent nor around the camp, at least not the parts Serena had seen on her way there. After asking a Commander to let the Queen know that Serena was there to speak with her and give her the next batch of notes on her project, Todd and Sheppard took up positions on either side of her as they waited for the Queen to appear.

(On The Other Side Of The Camp)...

The Queen sat in one of her thrones deep in thought. She had been informed that the human responsible for finding a cure for her kind, was coming to oversee the Atlantis medical team's operations and to also supply her with the next installment of notes. This, however, was of little concern to her. For as she went over the memories she had received from her commander after his failure, she was certain that the Wraith known as Todd was in fact the one who had eluded her for these last few months. Now all that remained was to find a way to get him to tell her what he knew about the cure and how close it really was to being completed. Even though she had received the notes from their geneticists, the Queen wasn't convinced that they were entirely accurate. And there was still the matter of the human that had been with Todd when he had escaped her commander. If nothing else she could prove useful in getting Todd to cooperate, he was after all enamored with a human, or so the rumors said. Perhaps the girl in her commander's memories was in fact the one, but how to find her when neither the Queen or her soldiers were allowed on Atlantis.

'Lesson's learned from past encounters perhaps...very wise indeed, though it makes my goals more difficult to achieve.' the Queen mused to herself, as an officer came to stand before her. He bowed his head in respect once she had acknowledged his presence saying,

"My Queen, the team from Atlantis baring the head of the project is here." The Queen arced a brow at this, thinking,

'Strange I didn't feel anything other then the minds of the soldiers. One would have thought it to have only been a shift change for the Atlantian soldiers. How very interesting.' She looked to her officer and said,

"Very well, I shall meet them in the main tent."

"They are already there, my Queen. Should I halt medical operations until you have had time to speak with the Doctor?" the officer asked, as the Queen stood from her throne. The Queen shook her head saying,

"That won't be necessary, after all, she has come to oversee her people's operations and to impart me with her next batch of notes. Let us not hinder her in her inspection." The officer bowed saying,

"As you wish." The Queen pulled her long black hair off to the side so it hung over her left shoulder, allowing all who looked on her to see the mark of her alliance tattooed on her right shoulder. Smoothing out some invisible wrinkles in her skirt, which flowed from a rather constricting corset making her bosom far more obvious then it needed to be. She made her way from her personal tent with the officer and a few clones behind her in a fairly impressive display of power, as she marched her way to the main tent on the other side of camp.

(The Main Tent)...

Serena had begun to pace in front of the throne, though she and the other's hadn't been waiting for very long, it felt like an eternity. It was only when Todd placed a hand on her shoulder letting his emotions of calm and love flow through her, bringing her constant pacing to an end. He gave her a slight smile saying,

"Be on your guard, and don't open your mind for any reason." Serena rolled her eyes saying in a rather condescending tone,

"Well my mind is sealed tighter then a clam's ass, but that won't mean a thing if you keep sending your emotions across the room like that." Sheppard snorted as he tried to hold back his laughter, but Todd gave Serena's shoulder a squeeze, saying,

"Do not forget you will be speaking to a Queen, and she will poke and prod as much as she thinks she'll be able to get away with, even with myself and Sheppard here. She may try to force your mind open." His voice was filled with both warning and worry, enough to make Serena stiffen slightly. Sheppard decided to step in then saying,

"Ok kids, lets stop teasing and or scaring each other. We have work to do." This seemed to straighten Todd and Serena out, though Sheppard hadn't really expected them to listen, but he was glad they did; cause a few moments later the Queen entered the tent.

As soon as she walked in, the Queen came face to face with the very human her men had been looking for. And with the Wraith Todd's hand on her shoulder no less. The Queen's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked Serena over, thinking,

'How...?! How could this slip of a girl, and a starving Wraith elude her men and then remain hidden long enough for Todd's forces to come to their rescue?!' But her thoughts were interrupted when the other human near then cleared his throat saying,

"Good day, your majesty." Sheppard gave her his best insincere smile when she hissed slightly at his comment, and Serena stepped forward saying,

"I'm sorry about him, Sheppard's a hand full even on a good day." The Queen turned to Serena again as she went on.

"I'm Dr. Marlo, and I have then next bit of notes for you to go over at your convenience. Also I'm here to just take a quick look over how the medical team is doing with the sample gathering." The Queen nodded silently as she stepped up to her throne. She sat down and gave Serena a look that was filled with both frustration and curiosity.

'She can't read my thoughts.' Serena was genuinely surprised, but also empowered by this realization. So holding her head up high, keeping her mind tightly shut, Serena took out the notes and handed them confidently to the Queen.


	31. Chapter 30

The New Girl

Chapter Thirty

Todd watched as the Queen took the notes from Serena, and even though the Queen's fingers touched Serena's, she made no move to impress her will on her. The Queen leaned back in her throne, with the notes in her lap and said,

"So you are to be our saver." Serena remained silent, though she could see the look she was getting from the Queen, and it was cold. She held Serena's gaze for a few moments before Serena responded, saying,

"I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm a savior, after all it will be each Wraith's own choice whether or not they wish to receive the treatment, though it would be wise to do so. Especially considering the sheer numbers of Wraith in comparison to humans out there." The Queen scoffed and started sifting through the notes, saying,

"So our hunger will lead us to our own destruction, would that not be preferable? My entire race gone after all our resources have depleted to nothing?" she looked at Todd before going on,

"After all, your predecessors would rather have sought our destruction by any means necessary. What are a few meager worlds in comparison to your knowledge, technology, and greatness?" Serena bristled at her accusations and was about to respond in kind, but held herself back, thinking,

'We need her on our side not against us, but God I want to punch her right now.' She took a deep calming breath and instead of looking the Queen in the eye Serena focused on the proceeders taking place just a few paces away, and said,

"While I do see your point, that Atlantis hasn't always been given to take action to fix it past mistakes. I want to do my best to at the very least fix one mistake that will in turn, hopefully, benefit both our peoples." The Queen smirked, but remained silent as she finished going through the notes.

Serena sighed and looked around taking note of where the blood samples were being stored. She walked up to the end of the table at the center of the tent and continued to just look over the surgical materials, waiting for when the Queen might have any questions. The Queen watched Serena with increasing agitation, knowing that the human was keeping something from her.

'Arrogant! Just like an Atlantian!' she thought to herself as she stood up and came to stand next to Serena. She placed the notes on the table next to the scalpel tray while she watched Serena observe the medical team's work on her soldiers. Thinking Serena was somewhat distracted by the team's activities, the Queen made the slightest push against Serena's mind, hoping to find what it was the humans were hiding. But wall in her mind stopped the Queen's probe before it could even reach her surface thoughts. Serena could feel the subtle probing and again reinforced her metal walls to reassure herself that they wouldn't break. The Queen bristled when the wall shuddered and seemed to become even thicker around the human's mind. This would not due at all.

As this little game of push and shove was being exchanged between Serena and the Queen, Todd was having a little trouble of his own with Sheppard. The man was insisting that this whole thing was a bad idea, saying,

"I have a bad feeling that this is all going to go south soon and we'll be stuck between a rock and a hard place if we don't pull out of it now!" Todd growled, but understood Sheppard's concerns. He too had the feeling that something wasn't quite right with the whole thing. Though he had thought whatever it was, it was worth the risk for the possibility to cure even more Wraith. Now he was facing down that gut feeling that Sheppard seemed to have tuned into as well, that this whole thing was a setup somehow. Todd nodded to Sheppard saying,

"Perhaps you're right, but we must at least get as many samples as possible. If Serena can find a cure it would be useful to know that if these soldiers wish to be cured still they may, no matter what their Queen may..." At that moment Sheppard drew his weapon and pointed it in the direction of Serena and the Queen.

Todd turned around to find that what had once been a battle of wills between the two females had quickly escalated. The Queen had her hand around Serena's throat and was slowly but surely squeezing the life out of her. He could feel the Queen's mind trying to force it's way into Serena's, but Serena was holding out, refusing to let the Queen anywhere near her memories. At that moment Todd couldn't have been more proud of Serena and her stubbornness, but now was not the time for that. The Queen's grip was getting tighter and tighter as she yelled in Serena's head,

'Where are the rest of the notes, what have you been hiding from me!' Serena didn't answer, she refused to give in, but as the Queen's grip got even tighter a small cry was heard throughout Serena's mind. The baby was frightened. It's little voice rang out in her ears as he expressed his fear and confusion at the situation, and Serena hoped, prayed, she was the only one who heard him. But, one look at the Queen told her that her prayers had gone unheard.

The Queen had a cruel smile, that made her lips curled back to reveal her sharp teeth, as she listened to Serena's son cry.

'Ah...what is this now? Our little savior has even more secrets?' said the Queen across the link, while her other hand moved up to touch Serena's fairly swollen belly. Her clawed fingers circling around her womb in a pattern that was almost lazy, but Serena new better. She looked past the Queen to Todd and Sheppard, and both were watching them closely, but were unable to do a thing out of fear that a stray shot or a wrong move could put Serena in more danger. Todd's eyes met hers and she held him there, his response was to try and calm both her and their son. Again the Queen laughs in Serena's head, saying,

'So our little savior has the commander's seed growing her belly. How very unprofessional of you, sleeping with your patients.' Serena tried to ignore her, but a pain began to bloom in her abdomen as the Queen spoke.

'Isn't that considered a breach of conduct for a doctor among you humans?' she seemed to spit the last word, as if it left a bad taste in her mouth, all while the pain in Serena's abdomen was becoming more and more intense.

Serena stared at the Queen as she continued to choke while her son was being squeezed to death inside her. One of her hands wrapped around the Queen's wrist trying in vain to free herself from the Wraith's grip, while the other flailed about on the table next to them. The Queen's grin was cruel as she continued her assault on Serena and her child. Todd's mind was in turmoil trying to keep Serena calm, while holding himself in check when he wanted nothing more then to rip the Queen apart for daring to touch his mate let alone threaten his son's life. Sheppard put a hand on Todd's arm to keep him grounded, but they now had a bigger problem. There was a commotion outside, and several Commanding Wraith were headed their way, no doubt summoned by their Queen. The Queen gave a cruel chuckle as she turned to face Todd and Sheppard, saying,

"You have a choice, either give me the secret of the cure, or watch as this human and her bastard offspring parish." Her voice held such malice and disgust at Serena and her child that Todd held no illusions. Whether they complied or not, the Queen would kill his mate and child without batting a lash. They needed to get her away from Serena, but with soldiers and their commanding officers headed their way, there wasn't much time for any of them.

Todd looked at Serena with all his fear and concerns laid bare. Their eyes met and Serena tried to concentrate, but the pain was beyond anything she had ever known. Her son's cries filling her head, as she tried to think quickly. It was in those last seconds before the troop of Wraith soldiers entered the tent that Serena's hand brushed over something cold. Through the endless screams of her child and her own fear, she recognized what she now held in her hand, and with quick, thoughtless determination gripped the tool. The Queen looked back to Serena but never got the chance to gloat on her premature victory, as the cool, clean edge of a new scalpel embedded itself in her forehead.

A look of surprise and shock took the place of self pleasure and morbid satisfaction, and stayed frozen on the Queen's face as she dropped to the floor with Serena. A moment later Serena stood up slowly, the Queen laying dead at her feet with the scalpel still entrenched deeply in her skull. Serena calmly stepped over the Queen's corpse and without a second thought stepped up to the throne and sat down to rest from her ordeal. Within moments Todd was at her side, checking her over to make sure there were no external injuries. Then placing his hand upon her womb he scanned carefully and meticulously until he was satisfied that there was no real damage to their son. At long last he pulled back and laid his head on top of Serena's saying,

"He lives, and is unharmed." Those words brought such joy to her that Serena leaned up and kissed her Wraith passionately.

Their moment was cut short, however, when Sheppard said,

"Look out Love Birds, we've got company." Both Todd and Serena looked up to see fifteen to twenty Wraith officers, mostly Commanders, standing before them. They stared at their fallen Queen and then up to Serena, who sat on the Queen's throne. The tension was so thick Serena thought she might suffocate if something didn't happen soon, but when it did, it threw everyone for a loop. For instead of attacking as Sheppard had thought they would, the Wraith all began to slowly kneel one by one before Serena. Their heads bowed in respect and reverence. Serena looked up at Todd confused, and said,

"Why?" However, it was one of the kneeling Commanders who answered her, saying,

"You have claimed our Queen's life, and therefor have earned her throne and all she once possessed. We are yours to command." This only served to confuse Serena even more, as she shook her head saying,

"But I'm not a Wraith...I'm human...why would I have the same rights as..?"

"Because you are not fully human, at least not since you encountered my Mother." said Todd before she could go on.

Serena looked up at Todd expectantly, urging him to go on. He knelt next to the throne so he and Serena were eye to eye as he began to explain.

"When you received the memories of my Mother she not only gave you her knowledge and history, but she also gave you a small amount of her DNA to help your mind to be able to sort and process all she had to show you without driving you mad. Though it was a very small amount she had given you, it was enough for other's of our kind to be able to sense and recognize as a Queen's genetic marker. Your mind now has the feel and presence of a Wraith. This along with your scent having similar marker, also caused by the DNA she gave you, instinctually causes my kind to recognize you as a Queen." Sitting back in the throne, Serena thought about this and what it entailed.

From what she knew of Wraith politics her killing of the Queen meant she was now the rightful ruler of her alliance, but would these Wraith really follow her with the same trust and loyalty as they had her...predecessor? She thought back to when she was among Todd's alliance and crew, both before and after her encounter with Todd's mother, the Old Queen. Though she was respected by most of his men, some of Todd's officers were either weary of her or wanted nothing to do with her. However, after she had received the Old Queen's memories things, she now realized, had changed. Every officer was quick to obey her, and showed signs of great respect and reverence. How she hadn't noticed it before was beyond her, but then she had just assumed they were glad to be getting a cure, or at the very least respected Todd enough to respect her as well.

After a few more moments of thinking, Serena turned to the still kneeling officers and took a deep breath, thinking,

'Alright... lets give this a try.' Serena straightened up in what was now her throne and said in as calm and neutral voice as she could,

"You all may rise." Their response was instantaneous, as they all stood together as a unit, their hands behind their backs and heads still bowed in respect awaiting her next command. She looked back at Todd, but he bowed his head as well to show his submission, which was the last thing Serena needed or wanted from him. She stood and placed her hands on Todd's face saying,

"If I have to deal with ruling over this alliance, then you'll have to do it with me. I don't want to be a Queen over you or anyone else, but if I have to rule then I want you with me. As an equal, not a consort or adviser, as a friend, lover, husband, and father." She placed his hand on her belly as she said the last bit, and Todd couldn't help the smile that broke out over his lips as he said,

"You are like my Mother. She was one of the few to take a life long mate, though she may have been the only one to rule with him on equal grounds." Serena smiled and reached up to brush her hand over his cheek saying,

"Not the only one, not anymore." She leaned up and kissed him gently, to which he responded in kind. They faced their new alliance when they parted and Todd took her hand as he said,

"To your posts, and make sure every officer has given their samples before you return to the alliance. We must have as many as possible to make sure the cure works for all Wraith." Nodding the officers dispersed and Sheppard put his firearm down. He watched as Todd and Serena stood next to the throne and thought,

'Oh this'll be a doozy to report at our next debriefing.'


	32. Chapter 31

The New Girl

Chapter Thirty-One

In Atlantis, just outside the Medical Bay...

Sheppard had been right about how everyone would respond at the debriefing. Rodney was in a panic, convinced that Serena had, in his words,

"Crossed over to the Dark Side!" Teyla was a bit concerned, but supportive in that she had faith in Serena and there by default Todd. Ronan was his usual grumbling self, though he seemed to be in favor of Serena being in charge rather then the previous Queen, though that didn't mean he had to like it. Then there was Carter, who seemed to be in complete awe at the fact that Serena had killed a Queen, let alone taken over her rather large alliance. After it had all soaked in, however, she went about setting rules and regulations for Serena to follow to the letter. Though annoyed, Serena understood that it was Carter's way of showing concern and she took her rules and did everything both Todd and Carter told her to do, especially for the last couple of months.

It had been nearly four months since the incident, and here they were; Sheppard, Ronan, Rodney, Carter, and Teyla with her newborn son in her arms, waiting outside the Medical Bay. Rodney was pacing back and forth in front of the door, while he wrung his hands and grumbled to himself that he should have never have asked Serena to work so hard. It was late the previous night that Rodney had asked Serena, or rather demanded, that she help him with an equation involving biological factors. Though it was rather simple, Serena seemed to be struggling through it until she finally gave Rodney what he needed, and then promptly fell to the floor in pain. Rodney had been so panicked, he thought that Serena was going to die, until Keller had gotten her to the Medical Bay.

"Is she ok, Jennifer? Is she going to be ok, is there anything I can do?" he'd asked in rapid succession, to which Keller simply smiled and said,

"Not unless you have experience in active labor and delivery, no Rodney." It was at that moment that McKay nearly fell to the floor in a dead faint, saying,

"THE BABY! SHE'S HAVING THE BABY NOW!?" Keller simply nodded as she activated her com. and asked for Todd to be contacted and brought to Atlantic as soon as possible.

Two hours later Todd arrived and the doors to the Medical Bay were closed to everyone other then medical personnel. It wasn't long before everyone had gathered outside the door, waiting for any news about how things were going. Though everyone was calm for the most part, McKay just wouldn't stop his nervous pacing. Finally Sheppard said,

"Come on Rodney, you're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep this up. Besides pacing isn't going to make the delivery go any faster."

"Indeed..." said Teyla, as she bounced little Sollen in her arms gently.

"The child will come when he is ready to come, no sooner or later. Anything else and it is up to Doctor Keller, but I honestly doubt there will be any problems. After all Serena is very healthy and very strong. She'll be fine, Rodney. You'll see." she said. However, this did very little to settle Mckay, who had begun pacing again. Carter was about to try her hand at settling Rodney, when the doors to the Medical Bay finally opened. Keller stepped out with a very pleased look on her face as she nodded her head for everyone to come inside.

The Medical Bay was fairly quiet, a few nurses and doctors bustled about cleaning up what looked to be sheets from one of the beds, though the team hardly paid any attention. For as they got to the back of the room and spotted Serena laying in a bed looking exhausted, they all rushed to stand around her. Rodney was in a panic again asking a hundred questions a minute,

"Where's the baby? Are you ok? How did it all go? Were there any problems? Did the work induce you?...Why are you laughing?" Serena was laughing, she couldn't help it. Poor Rodney stood there with a look of pure dejection on his face, while Serena laughed, but she soon sobered up, saying,

"Oh Rodney, I'm fine, and don't worry I was ready to go into labor any day now, it just was on a day you asked for my help." She reached up to grasp Rodney's hand as she went on saying,

"The baby is fine." At that moment Todd walked up to the group and said,

"The child is more then fine, he is perfectly healthy by both Human and Wraith standards." They all turned to see Todd with a small bundle in his arms, no bigger then a loaf of bread. When he came closer they all could see a pinkish white face surrounded by a blue swaddling blanket. The baby's face was the same as a human's other then two small pits on either side of his nose, a tell tail sign of his father's genes, but the fuzz that they could see on his head was black like his mother's.

Everyone just stared at the little one in awe for a moment until the babe started to fuss. Instantly Todd strode over to Serena, who was already undoing her shirt, and then held out her arms for her son. Todd handed him over, and the boy latched on without any problems and laid quietly suckling at Serena's breast while she asked Todd about how things were going with the new alliance.

"They are following your orders aren't they?" she said in a stern voice. Todd couldn't help the smile on his face, for even though Serena was the unwilling Queen of the new alliance, she still held her will over them with an iron fist. And her will had been for Todd to take command for the most part, because he had more experience in leadership, though Serena agreed that she would take part in some Hive politics when he needed her help.

Todd leaned down and kissed Serena saying,

"They follow instruction well, if nothing else, your predecessor was strict in that when she gave orders she expected results. The alliance is, as you Humans would say, 'a well oiled machine'." Serena smiled and shook her head as she looked down at their son. The boy had Todd's bone structure, but Serena noted that he had her eyes on the few occasions that he had opened them so far. Though she new his eye color might change as he became older, Serena had no complaints. He was perfect in her eyes and Todd's as well, if the feelings of love, pride and contentment she felt flowing off of him was anything to go by. He had been with her through the birth, and Serena had to admit that she wouldn't have made it through if not for he's presence in her mind. The pain had been excruciating, and Keller hadn't had time to give her anything for it as she had been in active labor by the time they got her to the Medical Bay. However, when Todd arrived, she instantly felt him in her mind trying his best to divert the pain, and calm her mind so she could concentrate. After that things seemed to go fairly quickly, and as soon as Serena heard her son scream, she new everything had been worth it; coming to Atlantis, work on the project, meeting Todd, loving him, meeting his mother, even being hunted down and nearly killed by the previous Queen. All of it had been worth it just to hear her son's screams as he was finally placed in her arms.

Serena sighed lost in her thoughts until Carter's com. went off telling her that one of the teams was back and ready for a debriefing. Carter responded, saying she would be there in a few minutes. She looked at Serena apologetically, but Serena smiled saying,

"Duty calls, go on we'll still be here when you get back. You can be the first one to hold him if you like?" Sheppard pouted then saying in a mock whine,

"Hey, that's no fair, Rodney and I were here first, so we get dibs." McKay blanched at the declaration saying,

"I don't know what you're talking about, John, but I'm not holding him!" It was Serena's turn to give a fake pout saying,

"Aw...are you saying you don't like my son, Rodney?" McKay sputtered and looked at Serena as if she had just dug his grave, but soon relaxed when she giggled saying,

"It's ok Rodney, I know you didn't mean anything by it. But you are more then welcome to hold him if you get the nerve to." She said this in a joking manner, though Rodney wasn't so sure how much of it was a joke, after all he was half Wraith. As if in answer to his thoughts Dr. Keller came back in with a clipboard saying,

"Ok, all the tests are in the clear...he is a very healthy boy. Oh! and have you thought of a name for him yet?" Todd looked down at Serena with a smile, and she knew that he would be happy with whatever name she chose. So Serena looked down at her son, letting her mind brush against his, gently. Then she looked up at Keller and said,

"His name is Edan, my little fiery one." Keller smiled saying,

"It suits him, he's been a very tenacious little guy through everything that's been going on around here. Oh and there is one more thing, I did a test to see if his Wraith genes would be more prominent then his human genes, like you asked." Serena and Todd were both on the edge of their seats now to hear these results, for they would tell them whether their son would need to feed like his father.

Everyone waited on bated breath, even Carter waited by the door, having stopped to hear the results before she headed to the Gate room. However, Keller put her clipboard down and walked over to Serena. She reached out and unwrapped the baby's right arm from the swaddling blanket, and turned his hand over to reveal that his palm was completely smooth. There was no opening, not even a hint of a ridge where one might form. Just a soft curving of the heal of his hand, which dipped down into the center of his palm like it would on any Human child. Serena was nearly in tears, and Todd stared in awe, as did everyone else while Keller began to try and explain, saying,

"As far as I can tell, he has no signs of any feeding organ, and if my tests are correct he won't need one. His body is stronger, and his blood has the same healing capabilities that Todd has, but he won't need to feed in order to maintain it. The only explanation that I can think of that makes sense, is that Edan is the perfect merging of both Human and Wraith genes." Everyone stared at Keller then down at Edan in shock, and then Serena looked up at Todd with a look of realization, saying,

"Of course! That's the answer! We've been trying to find a way to either suppress or selectively render the need to feed useless, but that will only result in the trait either resurfacing or killing the subject. We need to completely cancel it out."

"How?" asked Sheppard in confusion. Edan was born without the feeding organ, but who was to say that he would eventually need to feed later down the road. Serena looked up at Sheppard saying,

"Edan doesn't have a feeding organ, and if his body is processing the nourishment he's getting from eating alone, he will never have to feed. Of course I will have to watch him for the next couple of months to be sure that's the case, but if it is...all we have to do, essentially, is activate the human genes within the Wraith making their digestive system their only source of energy to sustain them. Although I'm not saying results will be instantaneous, it will take to for them to adjust, and it may cause them to have more of an appetite then the average human, but they will be able to survive without needing to feed." There was silence for a few moments and then everyone began speaking at once.

Though it was only a theory, it was one that was worth exploring, and explore they did. In the months that followed Edan showed no signs of needing any other form of energy other then what he received from nursing or other soft foods his parents fed him. Serena worked on combining her new theory with her previous research to try and find a simple way to activate one set of genes, while shutting off another. The key was in getting the Wraith's system used to the new form of energy, and keeping the old genes completely shut down. That, Serena found, would be up to each individual Wraith, for in order for her treatment to work, the Wraith would have to develop new habits. Even if this new way of obtaining energy worked, the Wraith would still have their feeding organ, and if they lapsed back into feeding as they always have, the treatment would wear off. Just like drug addicts, the Wraith who received the treatment would have to fight off their instinctual tendencies to be free of the need to feed. It would be hard, but Serena knew it would be worth it, if only because of the look on Todd's face when he was told that he would no longer have to feed once the treatment had been in his system for a few months. Not long after that they had their first successful test of the treatment, and as news spread through the alliance of its success, Wraith came forward to ask for the treatment. It wasn't long before almost the whole of Todd and Serena's alliance had been treated and had managed to successfully sustain themselves without lapsing back to feeding.

Todd couldn't have been more proud of Serena and himself for everything that they had managed to accomplish in the year and a half they had known each other. They had a beautiful son, their alliance was all but cured of its need to feed, and Carter had just given them permission to allow their officers to visit Atlantis without the need of armed escorts. All in all Serena would call it a success, but there were still other alliances out there. Wraith who still sought the destruction of Atlantis and its inhabitants, even some who hoped to find the way back to the Milky-Way and Earth. But Serena refused to think of that right now, as her son crawled across the floor in their small Atlantis apartment, with his father not far behind making a growling noise like some large ferocious beast. No, for now Serena would catch up her son to save him from his beast of a father, and laugh while Todd attacked her instead with their son giggling in her arms. Yes, for now life was good, and whatever tomorrow may bring, Serena would remember these moments full of love and happiness.


End file.
